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IN THREE LEGATIONS 



MADAME CHARLES DE BUNSEN 



WITH 49 ILLUSTRATIONS 



NEW YORK 

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 

153-157 FIFTH AVENUE 



By Trati^fer 
D. C. Public Library 
MAY 1 1938 






{All rights reserved.) 



^f03c 



WITHDRAWN 



BY HER 

GRACIOUS PERMISSION 

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO 

H.M. MARGHERITA DI SAVOIA 

QUEEN MOTHER OF ITALY 



PREFACE 

Some of my friends have encouraged me to think that 
the memories of the earlier part of a long and varied 
life contained in this volume may be of interest to the 
general public. 

Owing to the official position of my husband, Carl 
von Bunsen, as secretary, and afterwards councillor, to 
the Prussian Legations of Turin, Florence, and the 
Hague, we had opportunities of seeing and hearing 
much that was going on in times of historical im- 
portance. Curiously enough also in each one of our 
" Three Legations " we lived through the experience 
of a war, and were present at a royal marriage. 

In Turin — the war between the combined forces of 
France and Italy against Austria in 1859, and the 
marriage of the Princess Marie Pia of Savoy with 
King Louis of Portugal. 

In Florence — the war of 1866 ending with the 
deliverance of Venice from the Austrian rule and the 
marriage of the Prince of Piedmont, afterwards King 
Umberto of Italy, to his cousin the Princess Margherita 
of Savoy. 

Finally, at the Hague, we went through the terrible 
emotions of the French and German war in 1870, and 
were spectators of the nuptials of the Prince of Wied 
with Princess Marie of the Netherlands. 



viii PREFACE 

My letters were written on the spot, and I can vouch 
for the perfect sincerity with which they accurately 
express what were then my opinions and impressions. 
In addition to the details of our daily life, there are 
frequent allusions to what of general interest was 
passing around us, and I can only hope that the casual 
mention of well-known men and events as they were 
spoken of at the time, may give some touch of life to 
historical figures now fast receding into the dim back- 
ground of the past. 

A small part of this correspondence has already 
appeared in Harper^ s Monthly Magazine, all the other 
letters are now published for the first time. 

The quotations from Queen Victoria's letters are 
made by gracious permission of H.M. the King. 

M. DE BUNSEN 

{nee WADDINGTON) 

Castletownshend, 
June, 1909. 



CONTENTS 



TURIN 



CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

Account of ourselves — State of affairs in Piedmont — Arrival 
in Turin — Interview vsrith our chief — Visits — We take 
an apartment — Evening at the Duchesse de Gramont's — 
Reception of Prince Charles of Prussia — Sir James Hudson 
— M. Brassier's ball .... 1-24 



CHAPTER n 

Statute — Races — Acquaintance w^ith the G.'s — Waldensian 
synod — Gala concert for Empress of Russia — Visits — 
My dog — Committee — Fete Dieu — General La Marmora 
— Go to Latour — Frederike Bremer . . 25-57 



CHAPTER III 

Dinner at the G.'s — Mrs. Ashley — Our party — Campo Santo 
— Dinner at Sir James Hudson's — Church of San Carlo 
— Reception at Foreign Office — Genoa — My father-in- 
law made a Freiherr — Mechlin lace — Visits to Monaco 
and Nice ...... 58-77 

CHAPTER IV 

War with Austria — Speech of Victor Emanuel — Birth of my 
baby — Poerio — Dinner at the Stackelbergs' — Ultimatum 
from Austria — Arrival of Garibaldi — French troops enter 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Turin — Emperor Napoleon at Genoa — Battle of 
Montebello — Visits to the hospitals — Magenta — French 
hospital — Go to Latour with Stackelbergs — Peace of 
Villafranca — Arrival of Emperor of the French and 
Victor Emanuel in Turin .... 78-113 



CHAPTER V 

Visit to Certosa di Pesio — Journey to Florence and Perugia — 
Brassier's return — My husband made Legations-Rath — 
Dinner at Coellos' — C. prepares memoir for Cavour — 
Visit Naples, Rome — Bonn — Death of our child . 1 14-120 



CHAPTER VI 

Return to Turin — Union of kingdom of the Two Sicilies, 
Umbria, and the Marches to dominions of Victor 
Emanuel — Garibaldi enters Naples — His meeting with 
the King — We take an apartment — Piazza Bodoni — Sale 
of Prince G.'s curios — Death of King of Prussia — 
Opening of first Italian Parliament — Dinner at Cavour's 
— Go to the Reggio — Debate in the Chambers — The 
races — Illness and death of Cavour . . . 121-147 



CHAPTER VII 

Birth of my little girl — Meet Madame Benedetti — Pre- 
sentation to the Duchess of Genoa — Meet Mdlle. A., 
governess to Princess Marguerite — Court ball — The 
Carnival — Visit to Palace — B.'s presentation — Villa 
Tournon Radicati — Moncalieri — C. gets Austrian 
decoration ..... 148-169 



CHAPTER VIII 

Meet Gallengas — Excursion to Verzuolo and Busca — Servants' 
ball — Royal Library — Court concert — Marriage of 
Princess Maria Pia to King of Portugal — Excursion to 
Chieri and Santena .... 1 70-1 1 



CONTENTS xi 



FLORENCE 

CHAPTER IX 

PAGE 

Change of capital to Florence — Riots in Turin — Villa d'Ormea 
— Return to Turin — General La Marmora — Usedom's 
absence — Debate in Chamber — The Elliots' ball — Good 
reception of the King in Turin — C. goes to Synod at 
Latour — Viareggio .... 191-199 

CHAPTER X 

Florence — Comtesse Usedom — Meet Layard — Our party — 
Dinner given by Minister of Baden for Prince of Wied — 
Dinner at Villa Capponi .... zoo-209 

CHAPTER XI 

War between Prussia and Italy combined against Austria — 
Battle of Custozza — Victory of Sadowa — Venetia 
ceded to Italy — Villino della Torre in Via de' Serragli — 
Count Radolinsky arrives — Defeat of Italians at Lissa — 
Peace proclaimed — C. receives Order of Zahringen Lowe 
of Baden — Goes to Venice — Fetes at Venice in honour 
of Victor Emanuel .... 210-227 

CHAPTER XII 

Intense cold — Christmas dinner at Capponi — My reception at 
Court by the Duchesse d'Aosta — Carnival — Veglioni — 
We go to Milan for Carnivalone — Marchesa Trivulzio — 
Court ball — Trivulzio collection . . . 228-246 



CHAPTER XIII 

Marriage of Madame Marguerite to Prince of Piedmont — 
Arrival of Crown Prince of Prussia — Reception at English 
Legation — Entry of Prince and Princess of Piedmont — 
Reception at Capponi — Crown Prince visits German 
Deaconesses' School — Reception at Corsini Palace . 247-262 



xii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XIV 

PAGE 

Dinner at Capponi — Court ball — Tournament — Reception at 
Capponi for Prince and Princess of Piedmont — Ball at 
Cascine — B.'s presentation — Departure of Prince and 
Princess of Piedmont .... 263-276 

CHAPTER XV 

C. named Conseiller de Legation to the Hague — Berlin — 
Countess Bismarck — Countess Schulemburg — Reception 
at Crown Prince's — Ball in honour of the Prince and 
Princess of Wales — Schleppen Cour — Children's ball at 
Crown Prince's Palace — Masken ball — Children's party 
at Schonhausen ..... 277-301 

THE HAGUE 

CHAPTER XVI 

The Hague — Dinner at Perponchers' — Scheveningen — Prince 
Alexander's birthday party — Birth of Prince of Naples — 
Arrival of Prince of Wied — Christmas — Intense cold — 
Court ball — " Le the de la Reine " . . 305-325 

CHAPTER XVIJ 

Sight-seeing — Reception at M. de Knorring's — Madame 
Groeninx' ball — Audience of Prince and Princess Henry 
of the Netherlands — Mr. Lecky — Visit to Moersberg — 
Declaration of war between France and Germany — 
Dinner at Huis de Paauw — Death of Princess Frederick 
— Sad Christmas ..... 326-350 

CHAPTER XVIII 

Marriage of Princess Marie of the Netherlands and the Prince 
of Wied — Official invitations — Lengthy ceremony — Re- 
ception at Huis de Paauw — Professor Nippold — Visit to 
Archbishop of Utrecht at Delft — Exhibition of draw- 
ings — Old china — Lost opportunities in Holland — Berlin 
— Mommsen's tribute to W. — Leave Berlin — " Mein 
Geniigen" ..... 351-368 

Index ... . . 369 



29 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
TURIN 

MME. C. DE BUNSEN, TAKEN IN HER DRAWING-ROOM AT 

CASTLETOWNSHEND .... Froutisptece 

FACE PAGE 
VICTOR EMANUEL II., KING OF SARDINIA . . '4 

COUNT BRASSIER DE ST. SIMON, PRUSSIAN MINISTER AT TURIN . 6 

DUG DE GRAMONT, FRENCH MINISTER AT TURIN . .10 

CARD OF INVITATION TO COUNT BRASSIEr's BALL . .21 

CHURCH OF THE GRAN MADRE DE DIO, WITH BRIDGE OVER THE PO . 28 

COUNT CAMILLO DI CAVOUR .... 

ChAtEAU OF THE VALENTINO IN 1 8 5 8 . . '43 

CHURCH AND PIAZZA OF SAN CARLO . . . .64 

PRINCE L^ON G. . . . . . .67 

PRINCE NAPOLEON AND HIS BRIDE, MADAME CLOTILDE DE SAVOIE . 79 

BARON POERIO . . . . . . 80 

PALAZZO MADAMA, WITH VELa's STATUE OF PIEDMONTESE 

SOLDIER IN THE CRIMEA . . . . -85 

ROYAL PALACE AT TURIN, WITH THE PALAZZO DUCALE ON THE 

LEFT ....... 156 

H.R.H. THE DUCHESS OF GENOA AND THE COMTESSE GATTINARA . 1 64 

THE DUKE OF GENOA WITH HIS SISTER, MADAME MARGUERITE, 

AND THEIR MAISON d'eDUCATION , . . . 1 64 

xiii 



xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACE PAGE 
MADAME MARIE PIE DE SAVOIE, QUEEN OF PORTUGAL . -179 

WILLIAM HENRY WADDINGTON, AFTERWARDS PRIME MINISTER IN 

FRANCE, AND TEN YEARS FRENCH AMBASSADOR IN LONDON . 1 88 



FLORENCE 

QUEEN MARGHERITA . . . . . . 189 

MARQUISE DE BOYL . . . . 195 

MADAME MARGHERITE DE SAVOIA .... 202 

COUNT HUGO RADOLINSKY, NOW PRINCE RADOLIN, AND GERNjIAN 

AMBASSADOR IN PARIS . . . . -213 

PRINCE OF PIEDMONT AND DUKE OF AOSTA . . . 2 1 4. 

CARL VON BUNSEN, CONSEILLER DE LEGATION AT FLORENCE . 220 

COMTESSE LUCIE RADOLINSKA . . . . .2 22 

H.R.H. THE DUCHESS OF AOSTA .... 23O 

GIANDUJA EXPRESSING HIS SATISFACTION AT THE ROYAL WEDDING 249 

DEPARTURE OF ROYAL PROCESSION FROM THE CASCINE . • ^55 

PALAZZO PITTI . . . . . -255 

VILLA CAPPONl, NOW LA PIETRA .... 262 

PORTRAIT OF THE CROWN PRINCE OF PRUSSIA GIVEN BY HIMSELF 

TO C. VON BUNSEN, 1 868 .... 265 

DUKE OF AOSTA AS CONTE VERDE .... 267 

DUCA CARACCIOLO IN THE COSTUME OF THE NEAPOLITANS AT 

THE TOURNAMENT ..... 267 

MDLLE. A, . . . . . . . 275 

CROWN PRINCE FREDERICK WILLIAM OF PRUSSIA . . 277 

CROWN prince's PALACE SCHLOSS IN THE DISTANCE . . 281 

KING WILLIAM AT THE WINDOW OF HIS PALACE . . 287 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xv 

FACE PAGE 
COUNT BISMARCK, AFTERWARDS PRINCE AND CHANCELLOR OF 

GERMANY ...... 288 



H.R.H. THE CROWN PRINCESS OF PRUSSIA AND PRINCESS ROYAL 
OF ENGLAND . . , , . 



293 



THE HAGUE 

QUEEN SOPHIE OF THE NETHERLANDS .... 305 
OUR DRAWING-ROOM AT THE HAGUE .... 3O7 
COUNT BENEDETTI, FRENCH AMBASSADOR AT BERLIN . -311 

BARONESS DE BRIENEN . . . . . -319 

COMTESSE DE PERPONCHER ..... 32O 

PALACE OF PRINCE HENRY OF THE NETHERLANDS IN THE LANGE 

VORHOUT . . . . . -329 

RICHARD P. WADDINGTON AS CAPTAIN OF ARTILLERY IN THE 

FRENCH NATIONAL GUARD .... 34I 

ERNEST DE BUNSEN WITH TWO OF THE WOUNDED AT THE 

NEUWXED HOSPITAL ..... 343 

DON JUAN d'aLADRO, CHARGE D'AFFAIRES OF SPAIN . -350 

M. BERTINATTI, ITALIAN MINISTER AT THE HAGUE . -355 

GEORGE VON BUNSEN ...... 365 



TURIN 



IN THREE LEGATIONS 



CHAPTER I 

Account of ourselves — State of affairs in Piedmont — Arrival in 
Turin — Interview with our chief — Visits — We take an 
apartment — Evening at the Duchesse de Gramont's — Re- 
ception of Prince Charles of Prussia — Sir James Hudson — 
M. Brassier's ball. 

IT was very soon after our marriage that we arrived 
at Turin in March, 1858, where my husband, Carl 
von Bunsen, had to resume his post as Secretary to the 
Prussian Legation, under Count Brassier de St. Simon. 
Carl was the third son of Baron Bunsen, who was well 
known at that time as a savant and as having been 
Prussian Minister for many years both at Rome and 
in London. I was Mary Isabella Waddington, and 
had been brought up very quietly in Normandy, near 
Rouen. With the exception of a few months in Paris 
and London, I had seen very little of the world, and 
diplomatic life and going to the South, which I did 
not know, seemed full of novelty and attraction. My 
letters to my family were a kind of journal, describing 
all that passed so vividly before me in scenes which 
were in every way new. 

The state of things at Turin happened to be most 
interesting at that time. Just nine years before, in 



4 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

1848, the late King Carlo Alberto had given a con- 
stitution, called " Statuto Fundamentale," to his people, 
and thrown in his lot with the cause of Italian liberty 
and independence. He and his sons had made two 
campaigns against the Austrian forces occupying the 
Lombardo-Venetian territory, but although they had 
met with success on the battlefields of Pastrengo and 
Goito, and Peschiera, one of the fortresses of the 
famous quadrilateral, I had fallen into their hands, they 
were ultimately obliged to return across the Mincio, 
and sustained a crushing defeat at Novara on March 
23, 1849. Carlo Alberto, broken-hearted at this 
disaster, abdicated on the battlefield in favour of his 
son, Victor Emanuel II., and left his country for exile, 
where he soon after died. 

Never, perhaps, did a young King begin his reign 
under more depressing conditions : a difficult peace to 
negotiate with Austria, a defeated army, ruined finances, 
for the war had cost 300,000,000 francs or about 
_^ 1 2,000,000 sterling (an overwhelming sum for a 
small State), and the whole country in a disturbed and 
agitated condition. Soon, however, the Piedmontese 
began to realise that God had given them a King quite 
different from all the other rulers of the Peninsula. 
While these all profited by the reaction which followed 
the revolutionary times of 1848 to tear up the con- 
stitutions they had given, to break all the oaths they 
had taken, and to govern under the protection of 
Austrian garrisons, Victor Emanuel upheld the 
" Statuto " his father had granted, resisted all 
Austrian attempts at interference, and went his own 

' So-called from a sort 01 square formed by the fortresses of 
Peschiera, Verona, Mantua, and Legnago, and supposed to be one 
of the most important strongholds in Italy. 




VICTOR EMANUEL II., KING OF SARDINIA. 



To face p. 4.] 



TURIN 5 

independent way, doing his best to heal the wounds 
of his country. 

Then a new figure soon appeared on the scene, 
destined not only to guide to prosperity the little 
State of Piedmont, but to be the future maker of the 
kingdom of Italy. Like most of Victor Emanuel's 
advisers, Count Camillo di Cavour came of a noble 
Piedmontese family, but he was distinguished from the 
others by broader and more advanced views and by the 
gift of genius. After rapidly coming to the front in 
Parliament, Cavour became Prime Minister for the first 
time in 1852, and thenceforth directed the destinies of 
his native country. 

When the Crimean War broke out, Cavour sug- 
gested to the King the bold scheme of making an 
alliance with France and England and joining in the 
struggle with Russia. Eighteen thousand Piedmontese 
soldiers under General La Marmora took part in the 
war, distinguishing themselves particularly at the battle 
of the Tchernaya, and Piedmont found itself admitted 
to the Congress of Paris in 1856 on equal terms with 
the great European Powers. This was Cavour's oppor- 
tunity, and he lost no time in making use of it. 
Already in 1854 he had written to a friend,^ "As 
Providence has willed that, in Italy, Piedmont alone 
should be free and independent, Piedmont ought to 
use her liberty and independence to plead before 
Europe the cause of the unhappy Peninsula." 

Immediately after the signature of the Peace of Paris 
the attention of the Congress was drawn to the lament- 
able state of Italy, and particularly to that of the 
kingdom of Naples. 

Lord Clarendon, with the warm approbation of 

^ The Comtesse de Circourt. 



6 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

Queen Victoria, ^ joined Count Waleski in asserting 
that the presence of Austrian and French troops in 
the Peninsula represented an unnatural condition of 
things. Count Buol, the Austrian plenipotentiary, 
refused to admit the right of the Congress to take up 
the Italian question and declined any discussion on the 
subject. Count Cavour, however, had been able to 
carry through his well-laid plans and to extort an official 
condemnation of the state of Italy from the representa- 
tives of some of the leading Powers in Europe. 
Such was the state of things in 1857. 

Turin, We are here at last, and very glad to be arrived — at 

1857. ' l^^st / am ! I have had so much novelty of all kinds 

in these last two months that I am well-nigh tired. 

Repose, however, is by no means likely to be our lot 

for some time to come. To-morrow we go to look 

at apartments, and then our troubles begin. 

Turin, I have seen M. Brassier,^ and feel happier now that 

Feder, ^^^^ important interview is off my mind. He came 

late yesterday afternoon, after we had again been out to 

look for lodgings. The servant announced in a loud 

voice, " M. Brassier de St. Simon, Ministre de Prusse." 

He came in, shook hands with me, and was most 

gracious. He looked very hard at me, talked for some 

time, and when he got up, took my hand again, held 

^ Queen Victoria wrote to the Earl of Clarendon, February 7, 
1856 : " With respect to Lord Clarendon's observation 'that he 
hopes the Queen will approve of his upholding the Sardinians in 
the Conference and in all other respects,' she can only assure him 
that she is most sincerely anxious that he should do so, as the Queen 
has the greatest respect for that noble little country, which, since it 
has possessed an honest, straightforward, as well as courageous King, 
has been a bright example to all continental States. The Queen 
rejoices to hear that Count Cavour is coming to Paris." 

2 My husband's Chier. 



March 
22 




COUNT BRASSIER DE ST. SIMON, PRUSSIAN 
MINISTER AT TURIN. 



To face p. 6.] 



TURIN 7 

it, and said that there soon would be an occasion on 
which he would require my help, that he was going to 
give a little dance, and that without a lady he should be 
lost. C.I accompanied him to the top of the staircase as 
in duty bound, and I felt much relieved. In the even- 
ing he came to see me again in the box at the Opera, 
established himself opposite to me, and showed me all 
the principal Turin ladies in their boxes — a very brilliant 
sight. I must not forget to say that after M. Brassier's 
first visit M. Uebel,^ who is now the happy father of 
a son, came to see us. He is tall and melancholy look- 
ing and seems rather subdued. Mme. Uebel I have, of 
course, not yet seen. 

We have already paid several visits, one to the 
Duchesse de Gramont at the French Legation, who 
asked us to her reception next Wednesday evening. 
We went also to the Portuguese Legation to thank 
Mme. d'Alte for the box at the Opera she sent us on 
our arrival. She is English and took a " passion " for 
the entire Bunsen family in London. There was a 
whole circle of people at her house and I was intro- 
duced to all, but do not remember much about them. 
She was very oddly dressed, receiving her company in 
a white bonnet and a linsey-woolsey gown with a 
velvet cloak. We also called on the Comtesse Robilant. 
She is German, the daughter of a former Prussian 
Minister at Turin. She was first lady to the late 
Queen of Sardinia and receives in a beautiful old- 
fashioned boudoir in an old house. She seems a great 
friend of C.'s, was very kind to me, and seemed 
pleased at our going to her at once. M. Uebel was 
there also. There is a sort of queer family feeling 

^ My husband, Carl von Bunsen. 

" M. Uebel was my husband's colleague at the Prussian Legation. 



8 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

in meeting in other houses a member of the same 
Legation. 

Altogether I am beginning to have some notion of 
things now, and like it very much so far. People in 
general appear to be very friendly and willing to make 
advances to a stranger, and the whole Corps diplo- 
matique seems to hold very much together. 
March a8. The weather has been very bad since our arrival 
here, and we have not been able to go about much. 
We get through a certain number of visits every day, 
and have already a very respectable heap of cards on 
the table. We have very nearly fixed on an apartment 
— a very pretty one. It is quite near the Legation, 
nicely situated and well furnished. It was arranged for 
a young married couple in the Sardinian diplomacy. 
Marquis and Marquise Spinola, who have been sent off 
as attaches to Rome. At present it is let to some 
English people, who only leave it in about a fortnight. 
All the other lodgings we saw were positively dis- 
gusting, and everybody says we ought to be too 
thankful to get these. The drawing-room is really 
charming, all the furniture in palissandre and dark-blue 
velvet, itageres full of pretty trifles, and a piano 
d'Erard. There is a second drawing-room, two bed- 
rooms, a large dining-room very devoid of furniture, a 
smoky kitchen, two servants' rooms, and no cupboards. 
Such is what in all likelihood will be our future abode. 

We have two very nice rooms at the hotel, and live 
comfortably enough, only we wish very much to be 
really settled. 

C. is at present at the Legation on a very solemn 
occasion. Count Paar, the Austrian Minister, is giving 
up all the papers of his Legation to the care of the 
Prussians, as the Austrians leave Turin on Friday, 



TURIN 9 

diplomatic relations between Italy and Austria having 
been broken ofF. Count Paar is delighted ; it is sure 
promotion for him, for if he did not get a better post, 
it would look as if he were disavowed. C. is not 
delighted. They will have much more work, as they 
take charge in part of the Austrian affairs, and will 
gain nothing by it. Already yesterday M. Uebel was 
in despair, having had to see after twenty-four Austrian 
passports in succession. 

Yesterday I was alone, as C. was at the Chancellerie 
taking over the Austrian papers, when Benz announced 
the Marquise d'Arvilars. She is one of the great 
ladies here, and was Grande Maitresse to the late 
Queen. We had called on her the day before without 
finding her at home, so that I had not seen her. I felt 
much dismayed. In she came, however, with her 
daughter, Mdlle. d'Arvilars. She said she had hoped 
to find M. Bunsen at home ; I devoutly wished she had, 
but explained about the Austrians, and by degrees we 
got on better. She said she would be very glad to be ' 
of use to me, and was very polite. On going away 
she hoped "que je daignerai me souvenir qu'elle rece- 
vait tel jour." The manners here are very polished, 
quite the old school. It often reminds me of reading 
St. Simon. 

In the evening we went to Mme. de Gramont's, 
which was rather an ordeal, but it went off better than 
I expected. I had on my green velvet with the point 
d'Argentan. C. said it was very neat^ which from him 
means the highest approbation — at least, he never says 
anything stronger. On entering I was introduced to 
the Duke, I who is exceedingly tall and majestic ; he 

I Due de Gramont, who was Minister for Foreign Affairs in France 
at the time of the declaration of war against Prussia in 1878. 



lo IN THREE LEGATIONS 

waved us on to the Duchess, who is quiet and agreeable 
looking, but shy. She was very kind, spoke English, 
asked what people I had seen as yet, and introduced me 
to some ladies. Nearly all the gentlemen of the Corps 
diplomatique asked to be presented to me, and C. 
brought them up at intervals throughout the evening. 
Then the Duke came and conversed a little ; he has 
just been at Nice, and told me he had first heard of 
C.'s arrival in these parts from the Empress of 
Russia. 

Yesterday I had another visit from people I had not 
yet seen ; a Count and Comtesse Sclopis. They are 
great friends of my father-in-law's, were most kind, 
and after the first embarrassment I liked them particu- 
larly. They begged that we would make use of them 
in any way, and the Count said we must have had 
offers of that kind already. " Mais comme amis de la 
famille, nous vous prions de nous donner la preference, 
comme disent les marchands." They don't go out 
much, which I am sorry for, but receive at home. I 
hope we shall go there. Soon after they were gone C. 
came in, and we paid various visits. We went to the 
Marquise Palavicini, who is very handsome and very 
clever. We found the Chief there and M. Uebel, so that 
she had the entire Legation at her reception. The whole 
Corps diplomatique here seems very intimate, but the 
members of one Legation are almost relations. After 
the Palavicini we went to see Mme. La Marmora, wife 
of the General ; she is an Englishwoman. 

In the evening we went to M. de Castro's, the Spanish 
Minister. It was not a large party. I had seen Mme. 
de Castro at the Duchess's, and as she is a new arrival, 
I had to present C, which was rather amusing. Mdlle. 
de Castro, her step-daughter, is a very pretty girl, and 




DUG DE GRAMONT, FRENCH MINISTER AT TURIN. 



To face p. lo.] 



TURIN II 

looked charming in one of those queer coiffures you 
may remember seeing at Laure's — a great plait ot 
black velvet all up one side of the head, and a bunch 
of red roses stuck at the other ; she had a white dress. 
Mme. de Castro can hardly speak a word of French ; 
otherwise she receives very well, and they have a new 
house, perfectly got up. M. de Castro, tall and much 
decorated with broad ribbons and orders, proved 
almost a rival for the Duke. By the way, the Duke 
was most gracious, apologised for not having called 
yet, and finally begged that C. and I would dine with 
them on Sunday " en petit comite." All the people 
here shake hands, just as in England, young ladies and all. 
The Comtesse CoUobiano was covered with diamonds 
and magnificent lace ; she called C. just as we were 
going away, to tell him we must come to her evening 
receptions. My friend the Marquise d'Arvilars was 
there, and the Comtesse Robilant, who was complimen- 
tary about my toilette. I had on the blue gown with 
the black lace and the dear little bows. Altogether I 
amused myself very well — the worst is over ; I know a 
few people now, and they certainly are all very kind. 
At present, as it is all new, I think it rather fun, but 
C. says I shall get dreadfully tired of always seeing the 
same people by and by. C. has not yet made his 
appearance at the club, to the amazement of Kolochine.^^ 
Prince Charles of Prussia arrives here to-day. M. 
Uebel went yesterday to Genoa to meet him. M. 
Kolochine gives a farewell repast to his friends this 
evening, and to-morrow it is not unlikely the Chief may 
give a breakfast to the Prince, in which case I should 
have to go alone to Mme. d'Arvilar's reception, which 
I by no means wish. 
^ Secretary to the Russian Legation, who was just leaving Turin. 



12 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

March 29. Diplomacy is decidedly a wonderful career tor 
rimprevu. I had scarcely sent oflF my letter yesterday, 
when I got a note from C. saying that the Chief would 
receive the Prince and the Corps diplomatique that 
evening, and that I was to prepare my dress. C. came 
in late, having been very busy — the Chief with the 
Prince all day, and everything left to him. We went 
out immediately to call on Mme. de Castro after her 
party, as we should most likely meet her in the 
evening ; then we drove to the railway for C. to shake 
hands with Count Paar, the Austrian Minister, who 
was departing. Chemin faisant C. gave me my 
instructions. 1 was to receive. When the Prince 
arrived (he was to dine with the King), all the 
gentlemen of the Legation were to meet him at the 
foot of the stairs. I was to be forthcoming at once, 
in order that M. Brassier might present me, and I 
was not to forget the altesse royale, or we should all 
be undone ! If the Prince spoke to me in German, 
I was to say *' Aufzuwarten Euer Konigliche Hoheit." 
I felt decidedly alarmed, but it was no use being 
nervous, and although I devoutly wished the Prince 
had put off his journey for a week or two, I tried to 
take things quietly. We found Mme. de Castro 
looking most charming in a black mantilla ; she is 
twenty-two, only four years older than her step- 
daughter, and is just arrived here ; we sympathise 
together, and although we can't talk much, as her 
French is very deficient, we look kindly at each other 
and are great friends. After dinner I put on the 
embroidered dress W.^ brought from Broussa, and 

^ In these letters " W." always refers to my brother William 
Henry Waddington, afterwards Prime Minister in France and 
French Ambassador in London for ten years. 



TURIN 13 

the red roses, and we drove to the Legation quite 
early, so as to be there before any arrivals. Son 
Excellence begged me de m installer, and to consider 
myself quite at home. The Due and Duchesse de 
Gramont were the first to arrive, and we all went 
into a second drawing-room. There M. Brassier 
brought all the ladies to me, " Viola la maitresse de 
maison ! " It must be said that the Chief does not 
do things by halves, and yesterday I had all the 
honours. C. brought up the young ladies in the 
rear. The company was very select, only les chejs de 
mission — no secretaries or attaches were admitted — 
and the leading people here. There was a false alarm 
of the Prince arriving, and a vain rush of M. Brassier 
and his two secretaries to the stairs. Finally he came, 
however, and C. fetched me alone into the first 
drawing-room. The Prince was standing before the 
fire, red-faced and military looking. Brassier pre- 
sented me; I curtsied as low as I could. He made 
a stiff little bow, and said in a -short, abrupt way, 
" Vous etes Fran^aise ? " " Oui, votre Altesse Royale." 
" Et mariee depuis peu de temps.?" " Depuis deux 
mois, votre A.R." Brassier presented C. " Vous etes 
beaucoup de freres, je crois .? " in the same tone. I did 
not stop to hear more, for the Chief told me that was 
all, and I might go back to the ladies. I cannot say 
I felt much flattered, but C. was extremely pleased 
with the whole affair, and assured me it was a great 
honour to be presented first and all alone, and that 
all the other ladies envied me. The gentlemen of the 
Corps diplomatique were then presented, and the Prince 
came into the second drawing-room. We all stood up 
and M. Brassier took him round, beginning by the 
Duchesse de Gramont, and named all the ladies. He 



14 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

shook hands with Mme. de Robilant and one or two 
others, old acquaintances I suppose, and began to chat 
very amicably with some of the dowagers. The 
dresses were very splendid. M. Brassier had written 
to the Marquise Palavicini to put on all her diamonds, 
and she really was ablaze. She had a yellow gown, 
covered with old lace and diamonds, a scarlet scarf, 
Turkish, embroidered in gold, a necklace of the 
biggest pearls I ever saw, row upon row, and a 
coronet of diamonds. Any one else would have been 
crushed by such a dress, but it would take a great 
deal to crush the Palavicini, and she went about, 
handsome and dashing, carrying it all as if it were 
a feather's weight. I can fancy people admiring her 
extremely. The Prince stayed a tremendous time, 
which was in so far satisfactory that I suppose he 
would have gone away if he had not been amused. 
According to etiquette nobody could leave before 
him, and it was getting very slow when at last he 
got up, asked M. Brassier's permission to retire, 
and, making a short bow to the company in general, 
walked out of the room, followed by his aide-de- 
camp. 

I made the acquaintance of several ladies, who have 
since called on me without waiting for my previous 
visit. In short, the Prince's coming and my receiving 
him seems to have produced a great effect. C. says it 
is dreadful humbug, but that nothing could have 
happened better for us on my arrival here. I rather 
like getting the cards without the trouble of calling — 
there are heaps of them ; but C. says it is not polite 
to let people make the first visit. I also saw, the 
other evening. Sir James Hudson, the English Minister ; 
he is very intimate with our cousins, the Ashleys and 



TURIN 15 

Baillies, and seemed quite pleased to talk about them. 
He said repeatedly that he felt as if we were quite 
old friends, and we shook hands most warmly at 
parting. 1 was the more pleased because C. had quite 
laughed at me for wishing to see Sir James, assuring 
me it would be no earthly use, that he was charming 
in men's society, but never went out, or had anything 
to do with ladies. He is a very handsome man, 
et represente more than any one here. Finally, I was 
dead tired, and we departed before one or two ladies, 
who would not go away, the Chief accompanying and 
thanking me most courteously for all the trouble I had 
taken. The next day, though Sunday, was almost as 
fatiguing. Various important ladies here receive on 
Sundays, and we had agreed it was better to go round 
to them at once, and get it over. C. was de service 
to take the Prince to the Vaudois Church (M. Brassier 
is a Catholic). He first went to bid M. Kolochine 
goodbye at the railway, and then set off, provided 
with three c antiques,'^ one for the Prince, one for the 
aide-de-camp, and one for himself. I went to Church, 
with vague hopes that perhaps C. might return with 
me, but after the service, which was long, as there 
was a reception de catecumlnes^ I had the pleasure of 
seeing him and M. Uebel get into the Prince's 
carriage and drive off. Various people called, and 
I then prepared, very unwillingly, to set forth on 
my first expedition alone. I drove first to the 
Comtesse Robilant, as I had been there once already, 
and at least knew my way. She had few people 
and was very gracious. I afterwards went to 
the Marquise d'Arvilars, whom I found holding a 
small court. She made me sit by her in the midst 
^ Hymn-books. 2 Confirmation. 



i6 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

of the circle, and inquired politely "si j'etais remise 
de toutes mes fatigues de reception ? " ; but I did not 
feel happy, and did not stay long. C. did not return 
till near six, having seen the Prince off and telegraphed 
his departure. He had dined with the Prince from 
three to four, and had just time to dress for another 
dinner at the Due de Gramont's at six ! To do him 
justice, he got through his second meal wonderfully 
well, all things considered. He was much pleased 
with the Prince, who had been extremely gracious, 
inquired after me, given him cigars, remembered 
having seen him as a child at Rome, asked him 
where he had got his dark hair, &c. One 
aide-de-camp regretted the shortness of his stay in 
Turin preventing his caUing on me, the other 
regretted not having had the honour of making my 
acquaintance ; Brassier had renewed his thanks for 
my assistance, C. had thanked him — in short, there 
had been a deluge of civilities all round. The 
dinner-party at the Chief's had been very select, 
only Cavour, La Marmora, and Count Robilant. 

The party at the Duke's was very small, the two 
attaches^ Musurus,i an English attache^ and ourselves. 
After dinner the gentlemen went to smoke, and I had 
a long tete-a-tete with Mme. de Gramont. She is a 
really lovable person, quiet, kind, and always the 
same. We talked of Scotland ; the Duke had in- 
formed me at dinner " que son beau-pere etait le 
chef du clan MacKinnon." He, the Duke, was partly 
brought up in Scotland, and has shot grouse. The 
little Due de Guiche and his sister were in the draw- 
ing-room, nice, clever children, but much spoilt by 
the attachis^ who pay them assiduous court. At nine 

' The Turkish Minister. 



TURIN 17 

we left, to end our duties at the Comtesse CoUo- 
biano's. There we found all the usual set, Mme. 
d'Arvilars, Mme. de Robilant, under whose protec- 
tion I estabhshed myself, the Palavicini, who was 
repeating to everybody what the Chief had rather 
imprudently told her, " que si on lui envoyait un 
Prince tous les jours il donnerait sa demission." 
There were charades going on, and it would have 
been amusing enough, only it was all I could do not 
to go to sleep. C, after his two dinners, was some- 
what in the same condition. He, however, presented 
Lord de Burgh ; I believe he is really Lord Hubert 
de Burgh, but no one here troubles about his Christian 
name. He is decidedly amusing, with a strong accent 
— Irish, I suppose. He was much shocked at dis- 
covering he had never inquired for Mme. Uebel, and 
asked if I thought if he were to call twice in one 
day, to ask how she was, that would make up for 
the neglect. To-night we are revelling in a quiet 
evening. To-morrow, alas ! the Salmour receives, 
and on Wednesday Mme. de Gramont. To-day I 
have been stupid and tired all day ; I am not used to 
such doings, and then the effort to talk to strangers, 
and try and remember the different people, and make 
out those you know, or ought to know, amongst the 
crowd of strange faces, I find dreadfully fatiguing. 

Please remember we don't pay the letters ; they all 
go to the Legation ; the King of Prussia pays for all ; 
it is almost the only little privilege we have, so pray 
let us profit by it. I was interrupted last night 
by the Marquise Palavicini and her daughter, who 
took us quite by surprise. She said she knew there 
was no soiree going on, and thought she would find 
us at home. C. had just finished a snooze, which was 

3 



1 8 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

as well, for the two ladies came in suddenly and 
quietly, and there was no preparation possible. We 
have taken the Spinola apartment. 
Turin, J have just had a long visit from Count Stackel- 

1857. ' berg^ — the first time I ever received a gentleman 
alone ! I like him, as, indeed, I like all the Russians 
here ; they are particularly agreeable. The Countess 
Stackelberg is a Parisian, very young and beautiful ; 
I have not seen her yet. Yesterday evening we went 
to the Duchesse de Gramont ; and as we were obliged 
to dress and go out, we went first to the Comtesse 
Sclopis, who is at home every evening in a quiet way. 
It always is rather a serious function, as she receives in 
a very large, lofty room of their grand house in the 
old part of Turin, which is dimly lighted on account 
of her sight being weak. There are hardly ever any 
ladies there, and the men, mostly old political friends 
and habitues^ come in very quietly and sit down. It 
there is any news going, they communicate it and 
discuss it ; if not, they sit mostly in silence. There 
never are any refreshments, as that is not the custom 
in old Piedmontese houses ; but C. tells me if anyone 
is very thirsty he can ring the bell and ask for a glass 
of water ! After an hour, which seemed rather long, 
we proceeded to the de Gramont's, where the drawing- 
room was very full. I am beginning to like going 
out here now ; I know a good many people, and the 
variety amuses me. Sir James Hudson never deigns 
to go anywhere but on official occasions. Lord de 
Burgh does patronise society a little — he was asking 
himself the other evening why he had gone to 
Mme. de Collobiano's. " I thought these people 
would amuse me, but they don't." The "liebens- 
^ General Count Stackelberg, Russian Minister at Turin. 



TURIN 19 

wiirdige Chef" accuses me of often joining the young 
unmarried ladies, and I quite allow that I find it a 
relief after much talking to the dowagers. M. Bras- 
sier is my great amusement ; he is paternal, and gives 
me a great deal of good advice as to who I ought to 
be on good terms with, and what people are danger- 
ous, &c. He comes up, lays his hand on his heart, 
then shakes hands and sits down for a little chat. His 
first question generally is, " Ou est votre tyran ? " and 
when I have pointed out C, "Ah ! c'est vrai, vous ne 
sortez pas sans tyran." He went to see Mme. Uebel 
the' other day, penetrated into her room, "et s'est 
fait montrer le poupon." She is receiving already to- 
day, being a very strong-minded woman, but C. says 
he won't see the poupon, it makes him feel ill. 

At last I have seen Mme. Uebel, who had been 
receiving the whole world. She is nice-looking, and 
had on a gorgeous dressing-gown. The poupon was 
brought in, whereat C. walked straight off to the 
chimney-piece. M. Uebel looks as melancholy at 
home as abroad ; he went to fetch the baby, but other- 
wise took no part in the proceedings. 

Last night we went to a reception given by the 
Marquise St. Marsan du Carail, an old lady who has a 
great position here. She lives in a magnificent apartment 
in the old part of Turin, and has all the " Codini,"i 
as they call great part of the aristocracy here. She 

^ When the old King Victor Emanuel I. returned, in 181 5, 
from his long exile in Sardinia, where he had taken refuge from 
the French troops in 1798, he came back totally unchanged, even 
to the way of dressing his hair in a powdered queue. All about 
court immediately followed his example, and returned to the 
fashions of the end of the eighteenth century. Hence the name 
of " Codini " (" little queues ") applied to all who are supposed 
to be reactionary. 



20 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

has the beautiful, old-fashioned, dignified politeness 
which is so charming here, and would not leave 
me till she had found me a seat in the crowded 
rooms. The function was not amusing ; there were 
scarcely any diplomats, and the people here talk Pied- 
montese when they are amongst themselves, which is 
not pleasant for strangers. Many of them, moreover, 
look cross and disagreeable. C. says they are discon- 
tented with the present state of things, dislike the 
Statuto, and would prefer the old Austrian ways and 
influence. I have taken very much to a little 
Comtesse D., whom I saw at Brassier's. She is a 
great exception here, friendly and young. I called on 
her, and she has promised to come and see me. I 
should like to make friends with her. After to- 
morrow we are to move into our new apartment. I 
am afraid it will be a dreadful day. We intend having 
our meals from the restaurant — for some time, at any 
rate. Afterwards I may perhaps make an attempt with 
my big cookery-book, but, as M. de St. Ferriol says, 
" Avec la meilleure theorie, en fait de cuisine on 
aboutit a des resultats detestables ; soyez sure, madame, 
qu'un peu d'experience vaut mieux que tous les livres 
du monde." Amongst the Corps diplomatique, lodg- 
ings, cooks, servants, and all details of that sort are 
very openly discussed, and Turin is liberally abused. 
I am quite relieved that we have an apartment at last, 
in order to hear no more on the subject. 
April 9. I am writing chez moi for the first time ! We got 

through our demenagement very well yesterday, and 
much enjoyed making use of our own linen, silver, 
&c. Our apartment is charming, much nicer than we 
had any idea of. My room is very large and lofty, and 
contains a beautiful bed with the " couronne de Mar- 















^^-zi ^ri -A 



\ 



-"■^SjjgjI^jMei^ 



i 



^:^ 




'Vj'; 



xj "^ 



^ 










TURIN 21 

quise " and initials of the Spinolas. All the rooms are 
in a row, opening into each other, with balconies and 
French windows, and a broad passage at the back. 

The Chief's ball is to take place on the 22nd ; he is 
in a great state about it, C. has been writing all the 
invitations, which was no small task, as there are 
upwards ot five hundred. Brassier has designed a 
card for them, which has met with a good deal of 
disapproval, as it is said to be a criticism or a carica- 
ture on crinolines, and there is some ground for the 
opinion. It is all surrounded by small figures in 
enormous crinolines ; one lady is quite slim in her 
stays and petticoats waiting for hers, others are over- 
flowing carriages, &c., and in another, two harlequins 
are actually sawing off some of the superabundant 
amfleur. The Chief vows he meant no disrespect 
to crinolines or to the ladies who patronise them — 
what he did intend is not easy to understand ; mean- 
time these cards have raised quite a storm, and some 
of the elegantes vow they will not go near his ball. 
1 suppose he will pacify them. 

On Easter Sunday we went again to the Italian April 14. 
service. M. Meille's sermon was very striking ; it 
seems he is quite the great man among the Vaudois. 
It is a real pleasure for me to find that I can under- 
stand him, and makes the greatest difference, for really 
M. B. was beyond endurance. The other day he 
prayed for " les puissances avez lesquelles nous sommes 
en rapport, et les puissances avec lesquelles nous ne 
sommes pas en rapport" — at least, so M. Uebel 
declares. 

We have taken a cook, who has entered on his 
functions to-day. He was under-cook at the Due de 
Gramont's, and is said to be quite good. We are glad 



22 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

to have him, on the whole, for the people at the 
restaurant would put garlic in the dishes, which was 
distressing. Oh, I must not forget to say that my 
little Comtesse D. has come at last. We had both made 
various unsuccessful attempts to get to each other, and 
she seems most willing to be friends. The Chief has 
given me my instructions for the ball. I am to go on 
Wednesday at three to see all his arrangements. 
Madame la Duchesse has promised to come at nine 
exactly, and I must be there at the same hour " pour 
prendre nos mesures." He was rather incensed at 
having been coolly asked for an invitation for a family 
of fourteen persons. 

At present the cook seems a decided acquisition. 
We quite regret having to eat our dinners alone, they 
are so good and so prettily served up. I am afraid he 
will lead us into expense by tempting us to ask people, 
but after our experience of the Itahan cuisine it is a 
great relief. I go over the menu very gravely with 
him every day, but feel decidedly out of my depth, 
and except mildly suggesting that we like potatoes 
occasionally, make no remark. 

The Chief is in an awful state of mind about his 
ball. He wants a maid who can dress hair. I repre- 
sented to him that ladies generally dressed their hair 
before going out. No matter, accidents might happen. 
My German would be of no good. Then it occurred 
to C. to offer Clemence,i who is now restored to health 
and was most anxious to see the ball. The one thing 
Brassier wanted to know was, could she dress hair } 
Of course she could, a Frenchwoman straight from 
Paris ! So the poor Chief was deluded, and she is to 

^ My mother's maid, who had accompanied me on our wedding 
tour. 



TURIN 23 

go. She is quite charmed. The Chief was, it seems, 
to-day in the Chancellerie nailing draperies to the wall 
with his own hand while all the people who came on 
business were going in and out, C. assuring them quite 
seriously that he would represent their cases to Son 
Excellence. S.E. was out, unfortunately, &c. There 
is a dreadful amount of humbug always going on. 
Did I tell you the Chief is to give us a dog .? It 
is quite a puppy yet and only opened its eyes to-day. 
It has been moved out of the way of the ball, and C. 
pays it a visit every day, but I have not seen it yet. 

-At last the ball is over ! I went by appointment April 23. 
yesterday to see the preparations. The Chief, backed 
by his two secretaries, was surveying the rooms 
" chibouk I en main." He gave me his arm and 
showed me all the arrangements. The tent which had 
been put up for the ladies was really very pretty, with 
a row of little bouquets all round, which Brassier had 
pinned on himself and got a crick in his back in so 
doing. When we had looked at everything we went 
to see the little puppies, who are charming, with very 
snub noses and just able to squeak. Finally, he seated 
me on a sofa in his own bedroom (formerly C.'s), 
for he has opened the whole apartment. It is a most 
convenient one for such occasions, as all the rooms 
open into each other, with a large central one, where 
the dancing is to be. 

For the ball I had on my wedding-dress, cut low, 
which looked very well with its three flounces of lace. 
I had a very good man to dress my hair, who has been 
with Felix, both in Paris and in London, and was 
quite rejoiced to handle roses from Nattier once 
more. I had on my diamond brooch and other orna- 

^ A Turkish pipe. 



24 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

merits, and C. said several times it was very neat; 
further than that he never goes. We arrived a few 
minutes after the Duchesse unluckily, owing to a 
difference in the clocks. Brassier, however, met us at 
the door and gave me my bouquet — pink camellias and 
heliotrope. It was very heavy, but smelt very sweet. 
Mme. Uebel had the same and the Duchesse a beautiful 
one of white camellias and violets. Mme. Uebel 
arrived a few minutes afterwards, looking very nice 
all in white en robe montante. It was distinctly under- 
stood that the Duchesse received. When Prince 
Charles came I had all the honour and glory of 
receiving for Brassier emphatically, and am quite 
content with that. I had a long talk with Rustem 
Bey, who is very clever and gentlemanly. He has a 
secretary, a Bey also, who installed himself on a sofa 
from the very first moment of his arrival and, as far 
as I could see, never spoke to any one, but sat on 
different sofas, looking as if a chibouk would have made 
him happier. Finally, when I had talked with my 
little Comtesse D,, who, by the way, has some splendid 
diamonds, with the Palavicini, whose lace and jewels 
were more wonderful than ever, exchanged a few words 
with others, bowed to more, I got to feel very tired, 
and was charmed when C. informed me about two that 
the carriage was there. We departed forthwith, despite 
of remonstrances. "Comment, madame, vous permettez 
a ce tyran de vous emmener comme cela ? " C. does, 
I believe, pass for a kind of Bluebeard in this respect. 
As the people here cannot understand that I should 
ever get tired of their society, they throw all the blame 
upon him. He has, fortunately, a well-established 
reputation of sauvagerie. 



CHAPTER II 

Statute — Races — Acquaintance with the G.'s — Waldensian synod 
— Gala concert for Empress of Russia — Visits — My dog — 
Committee — Fete Dieu — General La Marmora — Go to Latour 
— Frederike Bremer. 

WE sent to the Legation this morning for letters as 
usual, and the answer was that the post had come, 
" mais que S.E. ne se leverait qu'a deux heures." Poor 
Excellenz ! I wonder at what hour he went to bed. 

I think Clemence will give you an odd account of 
what she saw. It seems that her services were much 
more required than I had any idea of, and that she 
and the other women were almost constantly employed. 
All the Piedmontese dance amongst themselves, each 
lady with her admirers. You can hardly exchange a 
word with a woman of any pretensions in society at a 
ball or party. When you meet them in the day they 
all say, "A ce soir n'est-ce-pas ? " " Nous nous rencon- 
trons chez " whoever the person is who happens to be 
receiving, but when you get there they haven't time 
even to look at you, so busy are they marshalling their 
court — ten to twelve men round a sofa sometimes, and 
so anxiously watching that no rival should lure away 
one of them from their allegiance or get together a 
greater number ! 

It will be very nice if we can go for a few days to 

the Vaudois valleys. I never thought I cared so much 

25 



26 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

for the country, but now that I see the lilac in flower 
over the walls here, it seems as if a walk in a garden 
would be such a delight. There are no public gardens 
here ; the town is in a perfectly flat plain on the edge 
of the Po, the Alps bound it in a wide semicircle, 
and the effect of them on a clear day at the end of 
almost every street is very striking. Although they 
are a good way off, they tower above the houses and 
look grand. On the other side of the Po are the 
colline — pretty green hills dotted with country houses. 
On a misty day, even though it may be fine, if the 
air is not quite clear, the Alps disappear from the 
world and nothing remains but the plain. I think 
we were here two or three weeks before I saw the 
mountains at all. 
May 3. To-day I took a grand resolution and went to 

Mme. d'Arvilar's alone, determined to brave the 
formidable circle which is always round her. She was 
politeness itself, and assigned me a place by her eldest 
daughter, Comtesse Carpenette. On the departure of 
some other people I was promoted to the half of her 
own sofa — " Mme. Bunsen, mettez vous a cote de moi ; 
Lucie se mettra pres de la Marquise — cela retrecira un 
peu notre circle," She certainly receives admirably, 
and it is v/orth going there if only to take a lesson in 
the art. She arranges her company exactly as she 
pleases and is most attentive to every one. I then 
went to my Comtesse D., who receives on Sunday also. 
She lives in one of the finest palaces here and has a 
nice apartment rather high up. She has old furniture, 
and the drawing-room is very handsome, all the frames 
of the tall mirrors, the woodwork of the chairs, &c., being 
done over in silver instead of being gilt. It is peculiar, 
but looks well. She was very nice, as usual, but when one 



TURIN 27 

goes about on Sunday one constantly meets the same 
people, who are making the same round as oneself. Here 
were again Souza and Rustem Bey with his secretary 
(the one who sat on a sofa during all Brassier's ball 
and who never says " nothing to nobody "). They 
went soon, and I hoped to have my friend to myself, 
but a very tall Piedmontese kept his ground and was 
determined, as I perceived after a time, to outstay me. 
She talked in French to me, then in Piedmontese to 
him, in the way they have here. It was not in the 
least necessary, as he proved occasionally that he could 
speak French perfectly. It was no use going on in 
this sort of way, so I came home, and was well laughed 
at by C. when I related my experience. It seems that 
the D. and the tall Count are well known to be great 
friends and must have wished me anywhere for spoiling 
their tete-a-tete. Somehow I don't feel as if I should 
go there soon again ! 

Our dinner at the de Robilant's went off very well, 
only we arrived after the Chief, which it seems is 
wrong, and annoyed C, otherwise we were perfectly in 
time. Mme. Uebel was there, and I took precedence 
of her for the first time, being taken in first. 

This is the grand day of the Statuto, the celebra- May 10. 
tion of the Constitution granted to the country by 
Carlo Alberto in 1848. It is only in Piedmont that 
the engagements then made have been loyally observed 
and maintained, and where the people really enjoy the 
benefits of liberty. The poor Vaudois owe to the 
Statuto all the peace and independence they enjoy, and 
came to Turin on one of these celebrations, six hundred 
strong, with their pastors at their head, to express their 
gratitude to the King. To begin with, I saw C. depart 
in uniform, a sight I always enjoy, and then went off 



28 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

myself' with Benz to M. Saurin's lodging on the great 
place Victor Emanuel, by the Po. There is a bridge 
over the Po at one end of it, and on the other side the 
church of the Gran Madre de Dio, with a great flight 
of steps leading up to it. On these steps an altar is 
erected, and mass is said. The great square was full of 
troops, all the balconies hung with draperies and filled 
with ladies ; by way of decoration there were immense 
baskets of lilac on pedestals placed about. All the 
Corps diplomatique and the Ministers were grouped on 
the long flight of steps leading up to the church. The 
sight was very fine as the King, on horseback, followed 
by a few aides-de-camp, came riding down the square, 
all the bands striking up the " Marcia Reale " and the 
troops presenting arms. He crossed the bridge slowly, 
and stopped his horse at the foot of the steps before 
the church. Then mass began, and I should have liked 
to have looked on and enjoyed the sight, which was 
splendid, despite the want of sunshine, for the day was 
grey and dark, but Mrs. Erskine, who was with me, 
was in a hurry to go to the Ministere des Affaires 
Etrangeres, where we were to see the review, and I did 
not like to leave her. So I quitted with regret the 
beautiful balcony, all hung with red silk, which we had 
to ourselves. By the time we got to the Ministere it 
had begun to rain, but there was an awning over the 
balconies, which were all hung with old tapestries, so 
that it did not matter much. The Place Chateau is 
almost the only picturesque bit in all Turin. There is 
an old building in the middle, formerly a gateway of 
the town, afterwards the palace of Madame Royale, the 
Regent. It is much defaced, but still has towers, a 
moat full of bright green shrubs, and a general air of 
antiquity about it. The picture gallery, where I go 




CHURCH OF THE GRAN MADRE DI DIO, WITH BRIDGE 
OVER THE PO. 



To face p. 28.] 




COUNT CAMILLO DI CAVOUR. 



To face p. 2ij.] 



TURIN ■ 29 

and draw, is there, and the Senate sits there. It stands 
right in the middle of the square with its moat and 
bridge, and all round are the regular lines of handsome, 
comparatively modern buildings, the King's Palace, 
various Ministeres, the Reggio, &c,, with arcades 
below. The King placed himself with his back to the 
old Chateau, exactly opposite to us, while the troops 
marched past before him. He is not handsome, but 
better-looking than his portraits. La Marmora was at 
his side. Unfortunately it rained hard all the time the 
troops were passing, after which came the University, 
civil corporations, &c. Meantime the gentlemen of 
the Corps diplomatique came dropping in from the mass 
at the Gran Madre di Dio, some gorgeous with stars 
and embroidery, others in plain clothes, having gone 
home to change ; amongst the last was C, of course. 
M. de Castro looked very magnificent, and the Turk 
was so grand that I was quite proud of shaking hands 
with him. Amongst the ladies Mme. de Stackelberg 
shone pre-eminent, tall and handsome, with a kind of 
noble, imperious beauty. The Duchesse, kind and good- 
natured as usual, never makes much show. Cavour 
was doing the honours very amiably in a much em- 
broidered coat. His round good-natured face and 
spectacles, as well as his short stout figure, always seem 
to me slightly disappointing. It does not answer, 
somehow, to one's idea of a great Italian statesman. 
He always makes me most gracious bows, however, 
whenever I meet him in the street, which I do fre- 
quently, as we do not live far from the Palais Cavour. 
Stackelberg was there, whom I like very much since a 
long visit he paid to me. 

Cavour's niece, the Comtesse Alfieri, did the 
honours at the Ministere. She makes the most 



30 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

wonderful curtsies I ever saw, really going down into the 
floor and coming up again in a most surprising manner. 
On returning from Cavour's we had some luncheon 
to strengthen us for the races, which were expected 
to last long past our usual dinner hour. I put on the 
lilac muslin we bought in Paris with the three flounces, 
and my white China crape shawl. The rain had ceased 
after the review, and carriages were pouring in from all 
directions towards the Place d'Armes, where the races 
were to be. We arrived in good time, got good places 
and prepared to enjoy the sight, when the rain, which 
one would think had stopped on purpose to tempt 
people out, began to pour in torrents. The tent under 
which we sat was soon wet through, and in some places 
collected the water and let it fall in regular streams 
upon the unfortunates below. Alas for the beautiful 
new bonnets, the beauteous spring dresses ! Umbrellas 
were put up in all directions, but that barely sufficed to 
protect the bonnets : the tremendous crinolines the 
ladies here wear stretched far beyond their shelter. 
Two horses ran in the midst of it all, in the mud 
and pelting storm. Then there was a long interval. 
People were looking for their carriages, most of them 
in vain. Meanwhile we were wonderfully lucky, found 
ours at once, and drove off, to the envy of many, no 
doubt. In the evening we went to see the illuminations, 
which were very pretty despite the rain. There were 
things like great plants of huge bell-like red flowers, 
managed partly in coloured glass, partly in gas, which 
were quite new to me. We illuminated also last night, 
as we were told it was proper and even prudent, as 
there have been cases known of windows being broken 
when not lighted. We had fourteen grease-pots to 
each balcony, which made a great show. 



TURIN 31 

Tuesday we did not go to the races, although May 15, 
the weather was perfectly splendid. We were 
discouraged by our first attempt. 

On Wednesday I went to see the newly-arrived 
Russian Princess G., who received me with open arms. 
The Prince, who is attachi to Stackelberg, came in to 
beg that C. and I would dine with them " en petit 
comite " and his wife instantly set about fixing the 
day. " It couldn't be to-morrow ; no, to-morrow they 
dined at the Stackelberg's, and Friday was a bad day — 
one must never begin a friendship on a Friday — so it 
must be Saturday." So for Saturday it was fixed ; we 
are to dine and afterwards drive with them to the 
Place d'Armes, which is the fashionable thing to do at 
this season. The Princess is wonderfully outspoken. 
" Voyez-vous, moi, j'ai la passion de la toilette ; j'irai 
tous les jours m'acheter des chapeaux neufs, pour le 
plaisir de les acheter ! " And so she and her husband 
seem to do, for the quantity ot things they have 
managed to buy since their arrival here is quite 
astonishing. She told me all about her education in 
a convent : "d'ou Ton sort avec beaucoup de religion, 
et peu d'instruction." In short she was perfectly 
amusing, took me to drive in her open carriage with 
her dog, and finally brought me home. Lord de 
Burgh's verdict is : *' Yes, they're nice people, very — 
asked me to dinner ; I wish I had fixed the day." 

Our dinner at the G.'s yesterday was very pleasant. 
I went in my lilac muslin, which is really charming, 
and a tulle mantelet with my black lace. The Prince 
received us most cordially, and begged us to excuse 
his wife, who had overtired herself, and was obliged to 
lie down, but would not let us be put ofiF. A cousin 
of theirs who is married at Turin, a Comtesse some- 



32 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

thing, did the honours of the dinner, which was served 
in Russian style on two tables. We first sat down to 
one, at which we ate hard eggs, thon^ radishes, &c., to 
give us an appetite, they said. Then we got up and 
went to the other table, where we had a regular 
dinner — soup, entrees^ roast, &c. After dinner I 
returned to the Princess, who had got up while we 
were away to try on my mantelet. Some medical 
person came, so I was turned out of the room, she 
telling her husband " d'etre bien aimable avec Mme. 
Bunsen," which he certainly was. The result of the 
conference in the bedroom was that the Princess was 
declared better and allowed to get up, which she did 
at once, with great glee, and came out to us in a white 
dressing-gown, one mass of lace, embroidery and blue 
bows. We talked for some time and then, as it was 
getting cooler, the Prince proposed a drive. His wife 
was provided for by calling in her dog and her old 
Russian nurse who brought her up. I promised to 
go and see her soon, and we proceeded to the Place 
d'Armes, where we took several turns in the midst of 
all the elite of Turin, the ladies immensely got up, the 
gentlemen riding or driving. The Place d'Armes 
itself is a great square plain, surrounded by an avenue 
of not very tall trees, where the carriages drive up and 
down, with the Alps in full view when the weather is 
clear. Unhappily, yesterday they were almost in- 
visible. Finally we were deposited at our door, the 
Prince again remarking what near neighbours we 
were, and hoping we should see each other very often. 
I think they are a great acquisition, and C. approves 
of them also. It seems that he and the Prince are both 
mourned over at the club, as sad examples of men lost 
to society by marriage. 



TURIN 33 

On Friday I went to the Marquise St. Germain, who 
is our neighbour. I had to thank her for sundry 
attentions in the way of sending mysterious old women 
to me who sell old lace, and offer to buy my old 
gowns, &c., to the intense indignation of my maid. 
" How the creatures dare propose such a thing to 
the gnadige FrauV &c. I have no old dresses to 
sell, but look at all the lace, which is very fascinating. 
The good old times they tell me about, when old 
lace was sold by weight in scales in the market, are 
over, alas ! and it is now much sought after. 

The arrival of the Empress of Russia having been May i8. 
again put off, we are really going to the Vaudois 
valleys, near Pignerol, of which I am very glad, as the 
Vaudois or Waldensians are such a peculiar and remark- 
able people. You know that they claim to have kept 
the primitive Christian faith, free from alloy, in their 
mountain fastnesses, all down the centuries. They have 
never needed a Reformation. The Bible is read by all, 
they have no mass, no images or ornaments in their 
churches, and their forms of worship are perfectly 
simple, resembling those of some of the strict non- 
conformist Protestant sects. These inoffensive people 
have endured long and dreadful persecution from all 
sides, but chiefly from the lords of the soil, the Dukes 
of Savoy, who subsequently became Kings of Sardinia. 
Indeed, it is only since the Statuto of Carlo Alberto in 
1848, when religious liberty became the law of the land, 
that they have enjoyed any peace and been able to 
establish stations in Turin, Nice, and several other 
towns. Even so recently as the last generation, when 
Count Truchsess, the father of Madame de Robilant, 
was Prussian Minister at Turin, he is said to have 
helped some of the pastors and leading men to escape by 

4 



34 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

sending them timely warning of military expeditions 
sent out against them. From the time when Milton 
wrote his famous sonnet : — 

" Avenge, O Lord, Thy slaughter'd Saints whose bones 
Lie scatter'd on the Alpine mountains cold . . . 
Slain by the bloody Piedmontese " — 

and Cromwell interfered in behalf of the Waldensians, 
the Protestant Powers have exercised a sort of protec- 
torate over them. Since 1848 this has become a 
mere form, but it is still a sort of tradition that a 
member of the Prussian Legation should be present 
at their Synod, and our chief being a Roman Catholic, 
this duty falls to C. Pilatte ^ is going with us, having 
come from Nice for the " table," as they call it. He 
dined with us to-day, and was very nice and amusing. 
It was the first time we had had anyone to dinner, and, 
as often happens, things did not go on at all so well as 
usual. The cook did not distinguish himself. The ice 
which C. always has, and which has never failed, was 
suddenly wanting to-day for the very first time. 
Benz was in a state of mind about the ice, and spilt 
the gravy on the tablecloth, also for the first time. 
Despite these little drawbacks the dinner was pleasant 
enough, and afterwards C, and Pilatte smoked on the 
balcony, and apparently enjoyed themselves. Pilatte 
left us later to go to the Stackelbergs'. 
Latour We Set out at a little before seven on Tuesday 

May 22, morning. At Pignerol we took an open carriage and 
went on with Meille ^ and Pilatte. The drive was 
charming. Sundry clouds that had given us some 
anxiety in the morning had cleared off, the mountains 



^ A well-known Vaudois pasteur at Nice. 
» Pasteur of the Vaudois church at Turin. 



A 



TURIN 35 

stood out gloriously, the air that blew over the plain, 
was such as we never breathe in town. On each side 
of the road the vines were trained across between the 
mulberry trees, and the corn shot up vigorously beneath. 
Our two companions were in the best of spirits and 
never stopped talking. On reaching Latour we went 
straight to the church, where the opening service 
was already nearly ended. Round the pulpit were 
grouped all the pastors of the valleys, some in 
gowns, some not, but all in bands. The church, 
which is new and pretty, was full, and several 
large dogs, which seemed to be freely admitted, were 
rushing about looking for their masters or lying 
quietly by the pews. A very rustic-looking national 
guard was sentinel at the church door in honour of 
the Synod, and the boys of the Vaudois College had 
piled arms before it. As we all came out their bugles 
sounded, and they marched off in very decent order. 
This gave a slight touch of military spirit to the 
peculiar scene. C. introduced me to the lady who was 
to be our hostess, Mme. Peyrot, a pretty young woman 
who took us up to her house to breakfast — indeed, we 
were beginning to feel in want of something, having 
only had coffee in the morning. After breakfast we 
returned to the village to hear the report of the " table." 
The " table " turns out to mean a sort of governing 
committee which is elected every year. The Synod 
was already constituted, and Meille was presiding in a 
very plain armchair below the pulpit. His decided 
features tell well at a distance, and his earnest austere 
expression gives him a look of one of the old 
Reformers. Pilatte near him was vice-president, and 
formed rather a contrast, with his long beard and 
quick motions. The moderateur Revel, who is short 



36 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

and stout, read the report, which appeared emmentl|^ 
satisfactory. It is curious to hear these people up in 
their remote mountain valleys talking of " leurs 
stations de Turin, de Genes, de Nice," &c. 

M. Peyrot's house is beautifully situated at the 
entrance of the valley. On one side the view extends 
over the wide fertile plain, which in the blue evening 
haze looks almost like the sea, with the roche Cavour ^ 
rising abruptly in the midst, rather like the Mont Dol. 
On the other side the high hills, thickly wooded at 
the base, rugged and bare at the top, and over all the 
splendid snow mountains. But what I think no words 
can describe is the extreme beauty of the country just 
bursting into spring life, the freshness of the green, 
the quantities of wildflowers, the splendid growth of 
the trees, the singing of birds, the sound of rushing 
waters on all sides ; there is a joy in it all, of which 
the effect is wonderful ! It is a great pity we could 
not stay out the week, but I think we made the most 
of our three days. 

It was with no small regret we left the valleys, 
but it was time we should come back. On arriving 
here we found the Chief had gone to Alessandria to 
meet the Empress of Russia, and had sent for C, who 
had not yet returned. I am sorry for his missing this, 
though he does not seem to think it of any consequence, 
and is rather glad to escape a hot journey in uniform. 
We saw the Empress arrive in the evening, the King 
riding by her carriage. I suppose we shall learn to-day 
what we are to do, for as yet nobody seems to know. 
May 25. After all it was a gala concert at the Reggio which 

^ On the summit of this isolated rock are the ruins of a castle 
which gave its name to the family of Cavour ; it was taken and 
destroyed by Catinat in 1691. 



TURIN 37 

^e had last night in honour of the Empress. The 
Chief had a very good box between Sir James Hudson's 
and the Turk. We set off in good time, I in my 
Broussa dress, C. in full uniform. I think he looks 
better in uniform than most of the diplomats here ; in 
general it suits them very badly. Rustem Bey paid us 
a visit before the proceedings began. He complains 
much of Turin, poor man ! Heat, he says, is nothing 
to him, but the heavy atmosphere gives him headaches : 
" Vingt fois ces jours derniers j'ai pris la plume pour 
ecrire, et vingt fois je I'ai rejetee loin de moi, incapable 
de faire I'effort." It is a sort of comfort to hear that 
other people feel stupid and idle too : it makes one less 
inclined to abuse oneself. However, to return to the 
theatre. Sir James, very handsome and gorgeous, with 
his two attaches^ was next door and conversed very 
amicably. The French were opposite, all the Legation 
in one box; they must have been warm. The Duke 
was resplendent, but looked as if his uniform were 
rather tight. After a time the Chief arrived, quite worn 
out ; he had been all day with the Empress, had dined 
at the Palace, had rushed from table to meet the King 
of Saxony, who came for the occasion ; was, however, too 
late, but had gone with him to the Palace and had been 
there ever since. Brassier looked well ; he was covered 
with orders, amongst others the collier de Vetoile -polaire^ 
which he got in Sweden, and which is supposed to excite 
the envy of those of his colleagues who have only stars. 
Presently there was a sort of stir and all the grandees 
came in ; everybody stood up and there was a great deal 
of applause. I am very glad to have had this oppor- 
tunity of seeing the Empress, ^ who is certainly the 
^ Alexandra Feodorowna, widow of Tsar Nicholas, nee Princess 
Charlotte of Prussia, sister to King Frederick William IV. and 
Emperor Williani I. 



38 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

most imposing-looking royal personage I have ever 
seen. She is tall and thin, and looks very ill, but very 
grand. Her dress was perfect — all white, with some 
sort of gold embroidery, almost high, with long sleeves. 
She had a magnificent tiara of diamonds, over which was 
fastened a kind of tulle veil at the back of her head, 
which was twisted round her throat and suited her very 
well. Such a diamond necklace as I have never before 
beheld sparkled on her neck, and she held a magnificent 
white feather fan. Not a flower, no accessoires^ no 
colour. The effect was very fine and quite suitable to 
her age. The King led her in and sat down beside 
her. On the other side was the King of Saxony, with 
his daughter, the Duchess of Genoa, who was in white, 
with a great many diamonds. To the left of the King 
of Sardinia was his eldest daughter, Mme. Clotilde, who 
came out for the first time in order to receive the 
Empress. The young Princess is tall and not pretty ; 
she had a white tulle dress, flowers in her hair, and a 
few diamonds, with the red ribbon of an order the 
Empress had just conferred upon her. Various Ministers 
were presented to her, and she talked very prettily to 
them and to La Marmora, whose fine melancholy face 
appeared in the background of the royal box. Cavour 
also stood behind the King, and an ugly Russian in a 
red uniform was behind the Empress's chair, with 
whom she talked and laughed a good deal . Still further 
back our Russian friends were discernible. Stackelberg 
got out of bed to go and meet the Empress, and I 
suppose was ill again last night, for I did not see him. 
The concert was decidedly poor, and the Empress did 
not seem to think herself called upon to pay much 
attention to it. She lorgnfd all the first row of boxes 
and made Cavour tell her who the occupants were. 



TURIN 39 

We came in for our turn and were fully inspected. 
She talked to the King, who, after the first half-hour, 
seemed as if he really could not bear it any longer — he 
hates all " representation " — and looked about him with 
short impatient gestures, as if an outbreak of some 
kind would be a relief. Once the Empress addressed 
Mme. Clotilde, who did not hear her at first ; her father 
pulled her forward, she got up, listened, and curtsied 
very nicely. Finally, about the middle of the concert, 
they all departed. Then, as it was getting very slow, 
C. went to see if Benz was there ; fortunately, he found 
him', and as we drove out and saw the perfect army of 
carriages on the square, we congratulated ourselves on 
getting off so well. 

Time really slips away in a most dreadful manner. 

This is a cool day, on which one can exert oneself, 

and here is the morning almost gone already. To be 

sure we were late, after our dissipation last night. 

There was breakfast and Ali, the puppy the Chief has 

just given me, to be fed. He howled fearfully all last 

night, and was quite exhausted this morning. He has 

just been separated from his family and feels lonely. 

Then the cook came with his menu. Then I saw C. 

depart for the Legation. Then, as it is Monday, there 

are various bills to be looked through, for I am making 

an attempt at keeping accounts, which is the more 

laudable because C. discourages it altogether — when 

once the money is gone he does not see that the accounts 

make any difference. Then I arranged my flowers, a 

beautiful bouquet of rosebuds the cook had brought from 

market. Then in trots my doggie, who is now on my 

lap while I am writing. He is so pretty, with a little 

round face, full of fun, and a blue bow round his neck. 

He is a constant amusement to us, excepting when he 



40 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

howls. C. is to come back early if he can, as we 
have visits to pay, and if he comes at two my whole 
morning will have gone without my having read 
*' Soil und Haben," a charming German book I want 
to finish and send to you, nor have I read Nicolo 
dei Lapi in Italian, nor have I been to the gallery 
to draw. 
May as. Q^ ^^s been suddenly seized by a love of dissipation 
and a strong desire to go out in the evening ! On 
Monday we went to the Marchesa Arconati, who is a 
new acquaintance. She receives every evening and it 
is a nice house. C. meets there some of the political 
people, those hommes serieux Brassier declares he is 
always in search of. 

The other evening the Russian Gerebsow came in 
quite unexpectedly to tea. He, too, abuses the climate, 
and says his nerves are so " agaces, qu'il casserait 
volontiers toutes les vitres de sa chambre." He told 
us all sorts of stories. At a jeu d'esprit at the Pala- 
vicinis', one of the questions put was what kind of 
declaration was most likely to be successful. The little 
Countess Therese, who is only sixteen, said she did not 
know what to write. Her mother told her not to be a 
goose, and she wrote, " Qu'on me I'apprenne et je 
repondrai ! " Cela promet ! Then about the little 
Belgian who is called Paternoster, and has just gone 
to Brussels in search of an Ave Maria, as Gerebsow told 
him, and so on. 

C. is most amusing with the puppy. He has under- 
taken his education, for which he has a decided talent, 
but a baby would certainly give him less trouble. The 
remarks he makes to the dog in German are too funny. 
" Ja, das leben ist bitter " (Yes, life is bitter), that is 
when AH is in disgrace, " aber Strafe muss sein in der 



TURIN 41 

Welt " (but there must be punishment in the world). 
Then he always speaks to him very politely in the third 
person ; for instance, when refusing his persistent efforts 
to get on his knee, " Es ist sehr freundlich von Ihnen 
an mich zu denken, aber," &c. (It is most friendly of 
you to think of me, but). 

This afternoon I had to go to a committee meeting June 4. 
at Meille's, which I was decidedly rather afraid of, 
never having had anything to do with that sort of 
thing before. It turned out to be rather amusing, 
however, although this specimen has by no means 
augmented my respect for the institution. The assembly 
was composed of the young ladies who are to be members 
of a charitable society, their mammas, and a few other 
matrons. Meille opened the proceedings by reading a 
sort of plan which he had drawn up. The society is to 
occupy itself with poor children, and is to be composed 
of young ladies, directed by a committee of elder ones, 
who are responsible for its acts. When he had finished, 
Meille begged that people would make remarks and say 
what they thought of it. Of course, there was a dead 
silence at first ; then, one person having hazarded an 
observation, a perfect Babel of voices ensued, everybody 
talking at once ! The chief objection raised was that 
the young ladies' part seemed too subordinate, as they 
were to act entirely under the direction of the com- 
mittee. Meille, who seems to have rather old-world 
ideas as to the subjection of youth, defended his system. 
There was a great deal of laughing and giggling going 
on in a corner amongst the young people, who were at 
last asked for their opinion, and then the startling fact 
came out that they thought they could manage very 
well by themselves and didn't want any ladies over them 
at all ! On this the confusion became still greater 



42 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

and Meille seemed very much taken aback. I must say 
I rather sympathised with the young ladies : as they were 
to do the work, it seemed right they should have a voice 
in the matter. Meille, however, declared positively that 
a committee of girls alone would not do ; he had not 
time to look after it himself, and there must be some 
responsible direction. The first idea had been a com- 
mittee of nine. The demoiselles declared, however, that 
they would feel ecrasees by so many of their elders and 
would not be able to speak freely in their presence. 
To do them justice they had seemed on the whole very 
well able to speak up for themselves, but the number 
of ladies was reduced to four, " avec un pasteur, si 
toutefois," Meille said somewhat reprovingly, " le 
pasteur n'est pas de trop ! " 

These four are to meet with the young ladies, con- 
sult with them, and decide " en dernier ressort." By 
the time this was really settled we were all getting pretty 
well tired, but Meille wished the four members of the 
committee to be elected at once, as it would save much 
time at the next meeting. To this there was much 
opposition, but he carried his point, provided all the 
ladies with pencils and paper and assured them it 
would be done in a minute. In Meille's first plan, 
which certainly was rather autocratic, he was to have 
named the committee himself, and I knew he intended 
to put my name down, but now that we had 
suddenly come to universal suffrage I gave up any 
idea of being on the list and was not sorry on the 
whole to be well out of it. To my great surprise and 
amusement my name was in nearly every bulletin, and 
when the votes were counted up I turned out to be 
president ! It really struck me as very funny — 
the vice-president is the mother of a tall daughter ; 



I 




CHATEAU OF THE VALENTINO IN iJ 



i 



TURIN 43 

I think I shall abdicate in her favour, for, as somebody- 
said before the election, "Je plains la future presi- 
dente." I suppose it was the prestige of the Corps 
diplomatique that did it, and C. is very well known 
amongst the Vaudois ; as for myself, I hardly knew the 
name of a single person there. Meille seemed very 
much pleased and shook hands to congratulate. Another 
meeting was agreed on for Saturday, and I returned 
home to kill C. with laughing at the idea of my new 
honours, and with the account of all the proceedings. 

I had my committee at three in the afternoon, and J""« 8. 
very warm work it was. Did I tell you I had a visit 
from Meille, who wished me to accept the presidence^ 
which I accordingly did } I took the chair for the first 
time, and though I felt as if the proceeding was highly 
ludicrous, I got used to it by degrees. Besides, things 
are beginning to shake right and work more smoothly 
now. 

Yesterday was a very busy day ; we were to dine J"'^® ^^* 
at the Stackelbergs', but began early by a walk 
before breakfast to the Valentino. This is a 
beautiful old Renaissance chateau built long ago by 
Christine de France, daughter of Henri IV., who 
married some member of the House of Savoy. It is 
covered with fleurs de lys, and though used as barracks 
for soldiers and much neglected and decayed, is still 
one of the prettiest buildings near Turin. It is sur- 
rounded by shady avenues, and the air there, after 
the rain, has been exquisite on these fine mornings, 
with the whole range of distant Alps clearly cut against 
the blue sky. It was the Corpus Domini, or File T)ieu, 
and after breakfast C. left Uebel to do the work at the 
Legation and took me to see the procession, which is 
still a very grand function, although the King and 



44 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

Court no longer follow it on foot as in the time of 
Carlo Alberto. All the narrow little streets of the old 
part of the town were crowded ; the balconies hung 
with grand old stuffs, red with gold fringes, blue and 
yellow silk — it was a pretty sight. We took up our 
stand on the shady side of the Dora Grossa and soon 
the procession appeared, very different from any I had 
yet seen. Various confraternitas headed it, singing as 
they came along, with lighted tapers in their hands 
and a guard of soldiers in front to force the way 
through the crowd. Wondrous were the costumes, 
old-fashioned, I suppose. Then long rows of monks 
in brown gowns and sandalled feet. Then . . . for a 
little time I saw no more, for such was the heat, even in 
the shade, and the confined air in the surrounding 
crowd, that, although not given to such proceedings, 
I fainted right away and fell to the ground. C. 
picked me up, and soon after I found myself, feeling 
rather queer, in a cafe^ which was fortunately open, all 
the other shops being strictly shut. They gave me a 
glass of vermouth^ which was abominably nasty, but 
invigorating, and after a few minutes I was all right 
again, and able to get up on a chair in the shop door to 
see the Host borne past under a canopy, followed by 
all the magistrates in robes, the University, &c. I 
was sorry to give C. such a fright, but my feeling 
faint came on so suddenly I had barely time to move 
out of the thickest crowd to the side of the street 
before I fell. We walked home, for there was not 
a cab to be seen, and C. made me lie on the sofa and 
rest until we went to the Stackelbergs' at five. The 
Russian Legation is in a beautiful house, with large 
cool rooms with marble floors looking out on a garden. 
There were several people to dinner. The gentlemen 



TURIN 45 

went away early after smoking in the garden, and the 
Stackelbergs proposed to us to drive with them and to 
stay to tea. Mme. de Stackelberg is very handsome, 
very dark, with splendid black hair, which she wears in 
big plaits round her head, crossing in front. She is 
tall and stately, with delicate features, and looked very 
beautiful in white muslin with her magnificent grey- 
hound at her feet. Such a dog I never saw ; he is 
alarmingly large, and looks as if he had walked out 
of one of Landseer's pictures. A good many people 
dropped in to tea. General La Marmora was there. 
I have at last made his acquaintance and find him most 
agreeable. I On going away Count Stackelberg said 
they were going to be in Turin all the summer and he 
hoped we should see a great deal of each other. Not- J""^ ^^• 
withstanding the dreadful heat, I had to dress after 
dinner, for the Chief was giving a musical party and 
I was to receive. C. had promised we should be at the 
Legation by half-past eight, so that of course we 
arrived long before any one thought of coming, but it 
was perhaps as well, as the Chief is fussy. He showed 
me all his pictures, walking through the rooms with 
his chibouk^ as is his wont. We even went into his 
bedroom in search of his little dog, Ben Bel, All's 
brother. Ben Bel is the Piedmontese for bien beau. 
Afterwards my task in making tea was simplified by 
almost everybody preferring ices, and I had not much 
to do but to make my best curtsies to Cavour and 
a great many countesses and marquises, some knov/n 
and some unknown, as well as to various officers and 

^ " We have been extremely pleased with General La Marmora 
(indeed, he is a universal favourite), and found him so sensible, mild, 
and right-minded in all he says, and a valuable adviser to the 
King." — Queen Victoria to Lord Clarendon, January 28, 1856. 



46 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

counts whom Brassier brought up in rapid succession. 
Several members of the Corps diplomatique had been 
forgotten in the invitations — the Chief generally does 
leave out somebody, but he threw all the blame on C, 
which I think was rather mean. After dinner he 
wrote a note to a colleague : " Mon cher, j'apprends a 
I'instant, que Bunsen a oublie," &c. Notwithstanding 
this tardy notice, that colleague was one of the first to 
appear. The soiree is said to be almost without a 
precedent in Turin, as ladies in society never sing 
before a large audience. It all went off splendidly. 
In the centre of the room was a pyramid of flowers, 
composed of bunches of pinks and roses, with a great 
branch of lily at the top. One lady in going away 
pulled out a bouquet, and the example was immediately 
followed — the pyramid was pillaged. For my own 
part, I took three or four, thinking I had well earned 
them, and the Chief seemed to think so too. He 
thanked me very much " d'avoir fait la maitresse de 
maison," and allowed that he had presented most of 
the people without saying their names, either from not 
knowing them or having forgotten them, so that it 
was not astonishing I had caught so few. He sent his 
compliments to my doggie and was altogether gracious. 
I was very glad to come home after having virtuously 
outstayed the very last lady. 

Books are what I most feel the want of, and you 
know I have never been accustomed to a scarcity of 
them. C. has the newspapers and a variety of deep] 
German books which he goes to sleep over, but I findi 
it almost impossible to beg or borrow anything here.l 
The chief has nothing hMtth^Dictionnaire de V AcademieX 
Fran^aise^ and M. Uebel is also supposed to possess one] 
book ; I do not know its title, but, as you see, that is notl 



TURIN 47 

much use. The Revue des Deux Mondes, which I get 
from the Belgian Legation and which I read from end 
to end, is about all I have. The mornings are the 
pleasantest time now : our nice shady walk, the return 
to our pleasant little dining-room with the shutters 
shut dark and cool, the breakfast itself — generally an 
omelette or new potatoes and cherries ; the doggie 
tired from his walk lying down to rest. When C. 
goes to the Chancellerie I resort to the drawing-room, 
which is at present full of roses and jessamine, and 
quite dark also. C. has at times velUites of thinking 
our. mode of life very simple, while I maintain it to 
be quite verging on luxury. With abundance of ice, 
fruit, and flowers, a nice apartment and a good cook, 
what more could one require ? 

The Turk was in a state of mind at Mme. d'Arvilars' 
the other day because I had not bowed to him at the 
Place d'Armes. He complained to C, who with great 
presence of mind assured him I was dreadfully short- 
sighted, getting over the difficulty diplomatically, 
though rather at the expense of truth, for that infirmity 
I certainly have not. 

I went to see Mme. d'Alte to-day, who was most July ii. 
affectionate and gave me a very pretty piece of point 
d'Alen^on. I was quite surprised. To be sure, she 
has stores of point d'Alen^on, which it really makes 
one envious to behold, and which she inherited from 
her Portuguese mother-in-law. 

As it is Saturday, I have just been going over Benz's 
account book, which is amusing sometimes. In general 
he spells well, as C. presented him with a dictionary. 
However, I have been puzzling over several words, 
finding out what a balet {balai) means, and also a pain 
de sucre^ which in Benz's vocabulary turns out to be a 



48 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

cake ! How we couU have consumed two sugar-loaves 
in a week I could not conceive. 

I went to the G.'s, where I found the Princess quite 
lively. The baby is always asleep and very little to be 
seen. He has his ears pulled every day, to make them 
stick out, she told me. Her room is filled with Russian 
pictures of the Virgin and saints, all gilt excepting the 
faces. 

July 17. " Ach diese Hitze ! " That is the remark I have 

just been making to Ali, and what one feels inclined to 
say to everybody. The heat really is astonishing, and 
now that it begins to interfere with my sleep, I feel 
aggravated. Poor Ali does not know what has gone 
wrong with him, and passes his time in trying new 
positions and drinking water. C. sometimes has not 
even the courage to smoke, and the Chancellerie, where, 
as Uebel is away, he must appear alive or dead, is really 
no joke in this weather. 

July 19. Yesterday I went out in despair, tired of sitting or 

lying in the house with all the shutters shut till you get 
stupefied and incapable of doing anything. I walked 
about the blazing and deserted streets for some time in 
rather a crazy fashion, but I certainly felt better after 
it. Last night we went to the Stackelbergs'. The 
Countess looked wonderfully handsome in pink muslin, 
with a pink mantelet to match trimmed with a deep 
flounce of rich old lace. The two Russian ladies, who 
are obliged to remain here for family reasons, Mme. 
d'Alte, and a few secretaries and attachis^ are all that 
are left in town now. Everybody who can get away 
has gone. I am beginning to detest Turin again, after 
getting rather to like it. There are a few good things 
here, though, it must be allowed. The figs, for in- 
stance ! We have great black ones, which C. despises 



I 



TURIN 49 

because he says they are nothing to those that come 
after. He eats them, nevertheless, and as yet I 
certainly have never tasted better ones. 

I was so stupid this morning that I even forgot to 
mention our visit to Vela, the sculptor's, studio. We 
had long purposed going there with the Marquise 
Arconati, who at last called for us yesterday morning. 
Amongst several fine statues is one of a Piedmontese 
soldier in the Crimea defending his colours — quite a 
splendid thing, full of life and spirit. It is to be 
executed in marble at the expense of a Milanese 
committee and set up in the Place Chateau here at 
Turin, as a sign of admiration and fraternity from 
Lombardy. Altogether it was most interesting, and 
we were very glad to have managed the expedition 
at last. 

The heat is quite dreadful. I have discarded every July 21. 
possible complication of dress, and do my hair quite 
flat in a net ; it is not particularly becoming, but 
bandeaux were insupportable. I have also left off 
wearing shoes in the house, and go about " in my 
stocking-feet," as you would say in Scotland. I have 
bought a common green fan for church and every-day 
use. Everybody has a fan in church, and all the 
common people in the streets have them too. Alas ! 
we dine at the Stackelbergs' this evening. They are 
indefatigably kind in asking us, but I think C. is 
looking forward quite eagerly to a certain family event 
which will put an end to these dinners, for a time at 
least. They ask us nearly once a week, and then we 
have to pay a visit in the evening. 

Our dinner at the Stackelbergs' turned out much 
better than we expected, and we drove afterwards, the 
whole party in two carriages, to see a villa on the 

5 



50 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

colline which is said to be pretty. It is on a very high 
hill, and the view of the Alps from the terrace must be 
magnificent ; but storms were lowering in all direc- 
tions, and the mountains were quite invisible. The 
heat was suffocating, and we returned through clouds 
of dust, surrounded by flashes of lightning. We all 
went into the Stackelbergs' to get tea, but their maitre 
d' hotel had gone out, taking all the keys with him, so 
that there was nothing to be had. After waiting some 
time in hopes of his return, we took leave, and walked 
home with Faverney and Bartholdi. Benz had not 
gone out fortunately, and got us some tea very quickly, 
so that we enjoyed our evening altogether. 

July 24. The heat is almost unbearable. The nights are so 

warm that the rooms never cool. It is dreadful to 
wake up suddenly in a sort of angst (terror) and feel 
as if you were in a bath. I never remember experi- 
encing that in France, for even in the hottest weather 
there one began to live again after nine in the evening. 
Mme. de Stackelberg has had a son, the very evening 
after our expedition with them. The G.'s are going to 
Switzerland ; lucky creatures, to get away from this 
fournaise ardente ! I had a long visit from Meille 
yesterday, and as I told him I should like to know 
more about the Vaudois history, he has sent me a big 
old parchment-bound book, very rare and precious, 
printed in Holland, and dedicated to " Messeigneurs 
les Etats Generaux." C. says it is the sort of book 
you could hardly read in winter, much less in this 
weather. It was very kind of Meille to send it, how- 
ever, and I quite hope to get some light about Arnauld 
and la grande rentree. 

July 30. We are thoroughly done up with the heat ! It has 

lasted so long now that it is difiicult to bear. C. 



TURIN 51 

hardly eats enough to keep body and soul together, 
and walks about languidly with a stick. For two days 
past I have gone with him to the Legation and sat in 
the garden there, which is quite deserted. It is warm, 
but there is shade, and I stayed there quite happily 
with All and my work, coming back at two to my 
lunch of figs and lemonade, and finding that " Das 
Leben war nicht so bitter" (Life was not so bitter) 
after all ! 

Yesterday was a lamentable one for us, for it was Aug. 2. 
marked by the death of our poor little dog Ali ! He 
was' run over by a carriage and died directly. We 
were on our way to the Legation, and once in the 
garden I must confess that I cried bitterly. C. had to 
go to the Chancellerie, but presently the Chief, having 
heard of the misfortune, came out to condole. He 
really was most kind, and said " qu'il n'y fallait plus 
penser et me distraire." He sent away Ben Bel— 
" il vous ferait encore pleurer," took me to see his 
new curtains, and afterwards to the Chancellerie, which 
I had never seen. It is a large, cool room, with some 
hideous old pictures — cheap works of art which the 
Chief is always buying. There is a long table 
arranged with the most scrupulous neatness and with 
such provisions of paper, envelopes, sealing-wax, and 
seals of all kinds, that it gives one quite a wish to 
write. I think in one way C. enjoys being sole lord 
and master there again. He says Uebel sings or whistles 
all the time he writes. On returning to the house I found 
a message from Mme. de Stackelberg to say she was 
receiving to-day for the first time from three till five. I 
felt very unwilling to go out again, but thought it better 
to do so, and found I was evidently expected. She 
was on a sofa in her husband's study, looking very pale 



52 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

and beautiful, in the most elegant of white dressing- 
gowns and a few soft blue ribbons. 

We had just begun tea that evening when 
Tchitcherine came in and stayed some time, talking 
very pleasantly. He described his day at the Russian 
Chancellerie : " J'y vais vers midi et demi, je cause un 
peu avec G., puis je monte chez le Chef, nous parlons 
un peu, je lui demande s'il y a quelque chose a faire. 
Non, rien. Je descends dire a G. qu'il peut se 
promener. II s'en va — puis comme il fait chaud dans 
la Chancellerie, je vais au salon ou il fait bon. Je 
m'etends sur deux fauteuils et je lis un livre 
d'anciennes depaches. A trois heures je pars." 
Stackelberg is evidently an ideal Chief, and being 
a military man, he dislikes writing. 

Our poor Chief is unwell ; he cannot eat, has a head- 
ache, and does not perspire in the sun ! The last 
symptom does certainly seem alarming ! C. will not 
pity him ; he says he should go away for a few days 
to change the air, instead of staying here writing des- 
patches, which nobody else dreams of doing. Stackel- 
berg was saying yesterday " que toutes les Legations 
ne presentaient plus que des debris." The G.'s go on 
the loth. The Stackelbergs are sighing to get to the 
Lakes as soon as possible. 

I am writing en Chancellerie^ rather impressed by 
finding myself sitting at such a big table, with every- 
thing looking so business-like around me. It is so 
hot in the garden that I come here now with my book 
or my work till Anna fetches me about one. C. gets 
home between three and four generally, and so the day 
passes quite pleasantly without my being so much alone. 
C. went to be photographed yesterday, as Kolochine 
has asked him for his portrait. It seems it is rather 



TURIN 53 

customary for diplomatic people to exchange des cartes 
de visite^ little full-length likenesses, no larger than a 
card, as a remembrance. We were to have gone to see 
how C.'s has succeeded, but were prevented by a storm, 
a most welcome event, a delightful storm, that has really 
cooled the air and brought us to life again. 

In the evening we went to the G.'s at nine and stayed 
till midnight. The Princess showed me part of her 
trousseau, which is at last arrived. Russian fashion, 
she has twelve dozens of everything, and it all looks 
extravagantly expensive. Beautiful dresses trimmed 
with the richest lace, provisions of exquisite lingerie, 
&c., were all tossed together in confusion in a large 
box. She has forty made-up dresses and twenty en 
piece. I wonder what she will do with them all, for 
she generally is very simple in her dress. 

I am making a drawing of the Chancellerie. To- 
day I made the Chief sit, or stand rather, with his 
Turkish cap and little pipe. Ben Bel is to be in it too. 
C. is at the table writing and is rather like. It amuses 
me extremely. 

This evening we go to the Stackelbergs, for to C.'s Aug. 15. 
dismay the Comtesse sent to say she is well enough to 
receive again. She likes society, and they really keep 
open house. 

The other day Mme. d'Alte took me a long drive, 
which I should have much enjoyed but for her com- 
pany ! We went along the road to Milan, which I 
had not yet seen. The mountains were beautifully 
clear and the weather glorious, but Mme. d'Alte was 
worse than usual, and one really gets mortally sick of 
all the small talk she delights in — the last wicked speech 
Mme. E. has made, and how she and the Countess 
Stackelberg quarrelled and then made it up again, and 



54 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

how the Princess G. was rude to Mme. d'Alte, and so 
on. The last tale may be true, I am afraid, for the 
Princess is not used to conceal her feelings much, and, 
if Mme. d'Alte bored her, might not be very scrupulous 
as to the means she might employ to get rid of her. 
Indeed, I am beginning to find her rather a compromis- 
ing acquaintance, as people seem inclined to make me 
responsible for her shortcomings. She is determined 
not to see anyone she does not care about, and is not 
particular about politeness, and when I try to explain 
that she scarcely sees anybody and pays no visits, the 
answer is always : " Mais enfin vous la voyez tres 
souvent vous ! " Mme. d'Alte took me to Mme. 
Lannoy, who still keeps up her Thursdays, despite of 
heat and all. M. Lannoy came in during our visit. 
He told me he thought C. was decidedly the most 
popular member of the Corps diplomatique here, and said 
a great deal in his praise. On my repeating this to 
C, he only said he wished the Prussian Government 
would open its eyes to his merits. 

One of our amusements at present is to take our 
evening walk in some meadows near the railway. C. 
smokes and we sit and watch the trains go by. I do 
not much delight in this, as it gives me a wish to be in 
them going away from Turin for a time, but C. takes 
a particular pleasure in it. He says it is an innocent 
amusement, which is certainly true, and why shouldn't 
he have it ? 

The G.'s have returned here. They went to Geneva, 
where there is the nearest Greek church, to have their 
child baptized, and then, according to Gerebsow, 
"ay ant rempli leurs devoirs de parents et de bons 
Chretiens, ils ont laisse la I'enfant a Geneve, sous la 
protection de son ange gardien, et sont partis pour 



TURIN 55 

Paris ! " This they had said nothing about, but went 
there quietly, stayed a fortnight, and have come back 
enchanted, picking up the baby somewhere on the way. 

The Uebels arrived on Saturday, and so I cannot go Sept. 14. 
any more to the Chancellerie ; they had tea with us, 
and seem very flourishing. Yesterday we all had tea 
together at Mme. d'Alte's with the Marquise Spinola. 
The conversation was not of a very elevated kind. 
Mme. Uebel told us which dishes were most popular 
amongst their family party at Tegern-See, and how 
they agreed to have some turn about. Meantime the 
gentlemen talked German to each other, and the 
servants stood and looked on with trays in their 
hands, after handing round tea, for such is the custom 
at Mme. d'Alte's — a most objectionable one, I think. 

Princess G. is quite wild about Paris. She spent all 
her time at Felix Ode's and Mme. Roger's, and has 
ordered all her winter things there. " Vous serez bien 
belle cet hiver, Princesse ! " " Moi, je ne mettrai rien 
de tout cela a Turin, ce n'est pas la peine. Non, je 
vais tout garder pour Petersbourg." " Mais vous n'y 
allez pas cet hiver." "Cela n'y fait rien, si je n'y 
vais que dans vingt ans, je porterai mes robes alors ! " 
She is a peculiar person, but I am quite glad to have 
her back again. 

My father-in-law is attending a meeting of the 
Evangelical Alliance in Berlin just now. He only 
made up his mind to go in consequence of a most 
pressing autograph invitation from the King (Frederick 
William). People from all parts of the world are 
there ; the King sent the singers of his own chapel 
for the opening ceremony, and is to be present him- 
self at some of the sittings. 

I am happy to say we really hope to go to Latour. Sept. 18. 



56 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

The Chief has been away, and only returned yesterday. 
C. immediately asked for leave ** pour quelques jours." 
" Mais qu'est ce que vous entendez par quelques jours? " 
C. said three or four, whereupon Brassier generously 
consented. 
Sept!^2i. ^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ enjoyment of this lovely place, and 
live in a state of ecstasy ! The delight of not being 
in the hot town, and having no Chancellerie, joined 
to the splendid beauty of everything around and 
the wonderful air we breathe — it is really difficult to 
take it all in at once ! La Hollande, as the house ot 
the Peyrots is called, is quite charming, so large and 
comfortable. Everything is perfectly simple, the cook- 
ing is of the plainest, but there are baskets full of fruit 
of all kinds ; the butter comes from the mountain 
chalets^ the honey and the game also ; so that even 
if there are too many onions in the dishes it would 
be a shame to complain. C. and I think this an ideal 
existence, and make plans for having some such sort of 
abode in some very cheap part of the world when we 
retire from public life. C. wishes for a garden and 
plenty of dogs. The style of thing here would suit us 
perfectly, only we should like silver knives to eat the 
peaches with and sheets that were not so rough to the 
skin ! On Monday I went with Mme. Peyrot to call 
on Frederike Bremer, the Swedish authoress, whose 
books we have all read. She is visiting the valleys, 
and brought a letter for the Peyrots. She is a curious- 
looking little old lady, with grey hair turned up in 
front and a peculiar cap. Mme. Peyrot introduced 
me. " Mais quelle Mme. Bunsen ? Etes vous la 
belle-fiUe du Chevalier Bunsen ? alors permettez que 
je vous embrasse," which she accordingly did. It was 
agreed that she should dine en Hollande^ which is here. 



TURIN 57 

It has rained all day, and Mme. Peyrot has been 
showing me the house and all her arrangements, which 
are on a very large scale. She superintends the making 
of her linen herself, giving out the flax to the poor 
women of the country to spin and weave. Her linen 
cupboards are a sight to see, two for sheets alone, of 
which she has nearly four hundred. They make their 
own bread, and two or three times a week a gigantic 
round cake of polenta ; the slices are cut with a string 
fastened in the middle, and distributed to the poor who 
come past. M. Peyrot makes and sells wine. 

We left Latour in pouring rain laden with many Turin, 
things. First a sack of polenta flour, then a huge ^^** ^^' 
brown loaf intended for the Chief, who it seems is 
fond of brown bread, then two pounds of butter from 
the mountains, one of which is also for Brassier, and a 
provision of delicious walnuts which we have just had 
for dessert. 



CHAPTER III 

Dinner at the G.'s — Mrs. Ashley — Our party — Campo Santo — 
Dinner at Sir James Hudson's — Church of San Carlo — 
Reception at Foreign Office — Genoa — My father-in-law made 
a Freiherr — Mechlin lace — Visits to Monaco and Nice. 

WE dined yesterday at the G.'s, as it was the 
Princess's f^te day. There were only the two 
other Russians besides ourselves. The Princess was 
really en toilette for a wonder and looked very nice. 
Tchitcherine and Gerebsow had both sent her splendid 
bouquets, and her husband had given her a set of 
ornaments in lapis lazuli, massively set in gold, with 
which she was delighted beyond measure, calling on 
everyone to admire them. After dinner the gentlemen 
smoked, except Gerebsow, who kept us ladies company, 
amusing himself with chaffing the Princess the whole 
time. The baby was not brought in because it was 
explained Gerebsow could not endure babies. He 
protested, saying, " qu'il etait assez bien eleve pour 
savoir dissimuler dans de pareilles circonstances, et que 
d'ailleurs comme c'etait la fete de la Princesse, il ferait 
volontiers une petite absence du salon," &c. The 
Princess is much excited about the arrival of the 
Ashleys, who are staying at the English Legation, and 
was quite envious when she heard that I had had a 

visit from Mr. Ashley and Sir James, or Mr. Hudson^ 

58 



TURIN 59 

as she will call him, whom she has never yet seen. 
After dinner a box of wonderful bonbons was produced 
that the G.'s had bought in Paris as a present for their 
Chief's wife. The Princess declared, however, that 
Mme, de Stackelberg stayed so long away she could 
not keep the bonbons any more, so we all began eating 
them at once, except C, who has a soul above 
bonbons. 

The other day C. had promised to introduce a 
German Professor to Count Sclopis ; he is no doubt 
a very learned man, but his way of speaking French 
is remarkable ; he always puts the verbs in the infini- 
tive and despises articles altogether. As Count 
Sclopis remarked, when once you knew the system 
it was easier to follow him, but at first it was dis- 
concerting. Wednesday I called on Mme. de Gramont, 
who has returned here to pack up, for, alas ! the Duke 
has been named to Rome and they are going away, to 
our great regret. 

I went yesterday to see Mrs. Ashley, and having Oct. 18. 
heard so much of the splendour of Sir James Hudson's 
abode, which in a common way is inaccessible to ladies, 
I was quite glad to have an opportunity of seeing it. 
There is no doubt it is very superior to any of the 
other Legations here. The house is a fine old one and 
everything is in very good style. Two or three 
servants in black were at the head of the grand 
staircase, and I was conducted through a very hand- 
some suite of rooms to the salon appropriated to 
Mrs. Ashley. She showed me her bedroom afterwards, 
all fitted up in English style. It certainly seems a pity 
that excepting Sir James, his two attaches^ and a few 
Italian habituis^ no one ever penetrates into the house 
or enjoys it all. 



6o IN THREE LEGATIONS 

The weather here lately has been abominable — a real 
deluge — bridges and houses have been carried away, 
the railway to Genoa is broken up in four different 
places, and serious accidents have happened. We have 
hardly stirred out of the house, although we owed 
several visits. The Princess, however, came to see 
me ; at present she is most amusing, because she has 
discovered that her servants cheat her, and has de- 
termined to buy all her provisions herself and keep 
them under lock and key. She has taken up the 
thing with great energy, going to all sorts of big 
warehouses in the old town with the Canna Farina, 
a very well-known person here, who explained every- 
thing. She really has learnt a great deal already. ** Un 
pain de sucre de tant de kilos, coute tant ? Combien 
payez-vous votre sucre ? '' I was obliged to allow that 
I could not answer without referring to the last bill 
of the droghista, as Benz calls the grocer. *' Les raisins 
sees, coutent tant la livre ? Les amandes tant } " Her 
head was full of it, and she intends buying old lace out 
of her economies ! 

Yesterday C. had a bad headache, so after estab- 
lishing him as comfortably as his state would allow, 
with the " Heir of Redcliffe " to amuse him, I went 
alone to Mrs. Ashley, with whom I had a long talk 
about Indian affairs, confinements, and baptismal re- 
generation ! It seems that Sir James has some vague 
idea of asking us to dinner as soon as Mrs. Ashley 
is well enough to preside, but the better she gets, 
the less we hear of the invitation ! 

Life is decidedly pleasant here at present. There is 
enough animation to prevent the necessity of going 
to see the trains pass, as in summer, and yet not 
too much visiting and reception days to attend to. 



TURIN 6i 

The Chief is much pleased because he has just been 
made a Count. He has always declared that he had 
a right to the title, and has been trying to get it 
recognised. " Cela lui manquait depuis longtemps." 

In the first place I must tell you about our dinner at Oct. 28. 
Hudson's, which came off at last. We were the only 
people except the party at the Legation. Sir James 
showed me his studio or den^ as he calls it, a lovely 
room full of beautiful things, where we talked long 
about a new system of colouring. He is devoted 
to painting. 

You must know that we have given a small party 
in honour of the Ashleys. Sir James was already 
engaged, otherwise Mrs. Ashley said he would cer- 
tainly have come. It was a great pity, for besides his 
being most agreeable in himself, he so seldom goes 
anywhere that his presence would have lent a certain 
eclat to the proceedings. The Chief also could not 
come, neither could the Uebels, on account of mourn- 
ing. We had the G.'s, Tchitcherine, and Gerebsow, 
and others. Mr. and Mrs. Ashley came very punc- 
tually ; the G.'s were late, of course ; the Princess 
really beautifully dressed, " pour nous faire honneur." 
She was a little shy at first, but soon began chatting 
away in her usual style. She explained to Mrs. Ashley 
her favourite plan. Her husband is to have a place 
about Court at Petersburg, " et Madame Bunsen sera 
Ambassadrice de Prusse." She wanted the Ashleys to 
put off their visit to Russia till then ! Mrs. Ashley 
said she would call on her here, en attendant^ and that 
she hoped they would be sent to London. After the 
Ashleys had gone the Princess wanted very much to 
play Lotto, but it was late and that was put off 
to another time. The jeu de Lotto was bought with 



62 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

part of C/s winnings at steeplechase at the Stackel- 
bergs' last Thursday, where to his great surprise he 
made fifteen francs. We find these innocent, stupid 
games are really the best. The jeux d^ esprit are very 
doubtful here. It seems that at a party the other 
evening, the Neapolitan, Canofari, refused to read one 
paper aloud, and yet I should think he would not 
be easily shocked ! 
Nov. I. I went to see the Ashleys yesterday, who seem 

to have been pleased with their evening. They had 
been evidently amused, by the remarks they made, 
and I stayed with them a long time. On my return 
home I found a message from the Comtesse Stackel- 
berg asking us to come in the evening. That is the 
third time this week ! C. was in despair. I did not 
want to go either, as I was tired, but as it was a 
party in honour of the baptism of their youngest 
child, we thought it was right to make an effort. 
It was decidedly dull. After tea some of the com- 
pany departed and we rose also, but the Comtesse 
begged we would stay, as they wished to observe a 
Piedmontese custom of eating chestnuts on the eve 
of All Saints. The chestnuts were accordingly brought, 
ready shelled, in a silver saucepan, and Count Alfieri 
volunteered to act as cook. Stackelberg brought him 
a bonnet de coton^ which he put on, and which did 
not suit him badly. He mixed the hot chestnuts 
with a little butter, sugar, and some spoonfuls of rum 
which were set on fire, and after stirring for some time 
they were pronounced to be ready, and proved very 
good. Canofari is decidedly amusing, and a great re- 
source to the society here; always in spirits, always 
chattering with his funny Neapolitan accent, noisy 
and impertinent, he at least brings animation with him. 



TURIN 63 

After the chestnuts some jeu iT esprit was proposed, 
the mere idea of which put C. to flight instantly. 

On Monday last we went to the Campo Santo, Nov. 5. 
which I had not yet seen. As it was All Souls' Day, 
the road which leads to it was crowded with people, 
chiefly women. The Campo Santo lies in the plain, 
a good way out of town, with the Superga in full 
view on one side, and the whole range of Alps on 
the other. By the roadside were little establishments 
for selling chestnuts, &c., and at the door a whole 
row of men with bags, which they shook continually, 
crying in most lamentable voices " Per le anime del 
Purgatorio ! " ( For the souls in Purgatory ! ) — " Per le 
anime del Purgatorio ! " Inside the walls the graves 
were so crowded with flowers that the effect was quite 
bright and cheerful. Long alleys of cypress divide 
the ground, and a gigantic cross rises in the centre. 
There is a kind of cloister all round, under which are 
monuments and statues ; several are by Vela, and 
a particularly lovely one is the tomb of a child. 
An angel is represented holding the child, who is 
springing upward as it were with a wonderful ex- 
pression of joy and surprise, and the angel is beauti- 
ful beyond description. We drove on afterwards to 
the bridge of the Stura which was carried off by 
the inundations. The Stura has entirely changed its 
course and made itself a new bed, through which it 
was rushing, sullen and swollen. Crowds of workmen 
were engaged about the railway bridge, the passage 
over which had been in part repaired, and over which 
the trunks of the unfortunate travellers were being 
conveyed in small carts. The sun was shining in a 
wmtry-looking sky, and the hills of the Superga were 
of a magnificent deep blue. The drive back through 



64 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

the queer old part of the town was charming, though 
very cold, and the bright fire and dinner were both 
welcome. 

In the evening I got a note from Mrs. Ashley 
asking us to dine at Sir James's with the G.'s, which is 
very pleasant. Wednesday the 4th I went with C. 
to the church of his patron saint, San Carlo. He 
says he always does on his birthday (he was born on 
San Carlo's day), as it reminds him of his childhood 
at Rome, when he had a holiday, and was taken to see 
the Pope officiate in the Church of San Carlo. The 
church that bears that name here is not particularly 
beautiful ; it is one of the two in the Place St. 
Charles, the square with the fine statue of Emanuel 
Philibert. The altar was brilliantly lighted, and several 
monks kneeling on the floor looked picturesque, but 
there was no function. 

The dinner at the English Legation was a very 
brilliant affair. In the first place Sir James received 
us in his den^ which it seems was a great compli- 
ment, as it is seldom opened to the public. The 
whole suite of rooms was lighted, the dinner first- 
rate, and beautifully set out with flowers, &c. In 
short, as the Princess observed, " Nous ne sommes 
pas des chefs de mission, mais il faut convenir que 
M. Hudson nous a donne tous les honneurs." Mrs. 
Ashley looked wonderfully handsome in white muslin 
and blue ribbons. The Princess was very smart ; 
she had on her grand pearl necklace and a new 
coiffure from Felix, a large black velvet butterfly, 
with rows of gold beads, which suited her very 
well. As the dinner was not official, the G.'s were 
treated according to their rank, not their diplomatic 
position, and the Prince took Mrs. Ashley in to 



TURIN 65 

dinner. Sir James seemed much amused with the 

Princess's conversation. She asked him to give a 

ball, which he promised to do. She asked him why 

he did not marry, assuring him that both she and I 

were in despair at being already provided with 

husbands, and chattered _on in her original fashion. 

She told C, who sat next to her, she knew it was 

his birthday and drank his health. Her conversation 

with M. de Burgh, as she calls Lord Hubert, was also 

quite killing. 

Yesterday was a quiet day — the Comtesse Stackel- 

berg sent to say she was at home, but as we were there 

three times last week we decided on enjoying a quiet 

evening. 

If you found Turin so cold in November, what Jan. 6, 
^ 1858. 

would you say now I wonder ! I am generally half 

frozen in spite of wearing all my warmest clothes, with 
C.'s pelz (fur coat) over all, quite on the top, regard- 
less of appearances ! The side towards the fire is warm, 
but the other is so chilled I can scarcely hold my pen. 
I think I catch a new cold about every day ! It is 
almost impossible to avoid it when going out at 
night, as the staircases are open to all the winds of 
heaven. 

Fancy, the poor Princess G. fell down in the snow 
yesterday, and hurt herself so much that she sobbed in 
the street. She sent a servant to tell the Prince, who 
was dining out alone for a wonder, and as the man in- 
formed him " que la Princesse c'etait cassee," he was 
decidedly alarmed. To-day she sent her carriage for 
me in hot haste, to show me some splendid lace that 
had been brought to her — a magnificent set of old 
Mechlin for a gown and train, belonging to one of the 
old Queens, and supposed to have been annexed by three 

6 



66 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

sisters who were formerly maids of hers, and who are 

very mysterious about it. 

On Monday we were at the Foreign Office, and 
waited for the G.'s, who came late. We sat together, 
and the Princess began commenting impartially on the 
Piedmontese ladies who passed and repassed before us, 
apostrophising them somewhat in this style, and by no 
means in a whisper : " Madame, vous avez une jolie 
robe, mais votre berthe est affreuse ! Madame, si vous 
vous trouvez belle, vous vous trompez beaucoup ! " &c. 
I tried to remonstrate, but was only told " qu'elle 
voulait s'amuser " ! Finally we departed, leaving her 
to enjoy the national risotto ^^ which is often given at 
dances here, and always at Cavour's. It is quite a 
good thing in itself, but seems such a queer dish to give 
at a ball, and it always announces itself by an over- 
powering smell of onions spreading through the rooms. 

Yesterday, before I was up, C. brought me a bouquet 
and a note in verse from the Chief, to excuse himself 
for not coming to dine as he had the grippe. We had 
asked him and the G.'s, as it was the anniversary of 
our wedding-day. The G.'s came very punctually, 
the poor Princess quite pale from a migraine she had 
had all day, but determined not to disappoint us. 
The cook quite distinguished himself, and there was 
a filet de hceuf a la marechale and a supreme de 
volaille which excited universal approbation. The 
champagne somewhat revived the Princess, but she 
was in despair " de ne pouvoir gouter de tout." 
Her husband, however, did ample justice to the 
dinner. At departing the Princess stuffed a very 
large orange and an apple into her pocket, remarking 
that they would come in useful to eat at the play. She 

^ Rice boiled in broth, with plenty of onions, cheese, and saffron. 



i 




PRINCE LEON G, 



To face p. 67.] 



TURIN 67 

certainly has queer ways, learnt probably at the convent, 
where she has told me the young ladies used to bribe 
the porter to smuggle in red herrings and other 
delicacies for them in his boots. At the theatre, where 
we saw an amusing piece, " La Corde Sensible," the 
Princess had a short snooze in the back of the box, 
then ate her apple and seemed much revived. Her 
husband was rather anxious about the apple, but she 
managed it very cleverly. M. de ChoUet joined us on 
our return from the theatre, and our little party was 
very gay, the gentlemen singing all sorts of songs, 
German and French. The Prince is fond of this 
one : — 

" Grenadier que tu m'affliges, 

En m'annoncant ton depart, 

Tiens voila six chemises 

Et trois paires de bas, 

Sois-moi toujours fidele ! " 

Unfortunately he never gets further than that, as he 
does not know the rest, which I regret, as I like the 
beginning. 

We have really got off to Genoa at last, and if you Genoa, 
could only see for a moment the magnificent view I "' ^^' 
have before me, all the port of Genoa sparkling in the 
sun ; what a large cheerful room I am in ; if you knew 
how warm the sun is, how little fire we need ; if you 
could see C. enjoying himself like a schoolboy fresh 
from school, I really think it would rejoice your hearts. 
It is delightful to escape from the extremity of cold 
we have suffered lately. The climate of Turin must be 
really, I think, one of the worst in the world, with its 
violent extremes of heat and cold. 

As to my father-in-law being made a Baron, or rather 
a Freiherr, that is official. People address things to us 



68 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

at present in wild confusion. Uebel sends on your 
letters to la Baronne C. de Bunsen. According to 
German custom the ten children would take the title, 
but, as I explained to you, we all only take the von or 
de. At Brassier's last party, he always introduced me 
as Madame de Bunsen. 

I do not think I have yet told you that I am actually 
in possession of the famous Mechlin lace which I think 
I mentioned having seen some time ago. The negotia- 
tions were rather complicated, as the three old ladies 
who had it, and who had been maids to some former 
Queen here, never appeared upon the scene, and every- 
thing had to be transacted through an intermediary. 
Instant payment was one of the conditions, and had it 
not been for that difficulty it would have been sold long 
ago. Happily I still had a cheque which was sent me 
as a wedding present, and C. and I agreed this would 
be a good use to make of it. As soon as I got the lace 
I took it to the Marquise Spinola, who has splendid 
lace herself, and is a great connoisseur. At first she 
was quiet, but when I displayed more and more of the 
thirty-two metres of which it consists, between broad and 
narrow, she got much excited and congratulated me 
warmly. " Pour avoir une chose comme cela il faut 
non seulement de I'argent, mais du bonheur ! Vous 
pourriez avoir de I'argent tout pret et chercher pendant 
des annees sans trouver une garniture pareille. Com- 
ment, la Princesse G. et la Comtesse Stackelberg ont 
vu cela et Font laisse echapper ? Elles n'entendent rien 
a la dentelle. Je suis bien contente que vous I'ayez, 
chere. Vous avez eu le coeur de donner de I'argent 
pour une belle chose et de I'acheter tout entiere, sans 
la partager et I'abimer ! " The old lady was quite 
enthusiastic. She had seen plenty of lace in her life, 



u 



TURIN 69 

she was a Genoese, but very little that came up to that. 
She quite confirms the story of its having belonged to 
one of the old Queens of Sardinia, from its having lain 
by so long and the mystery about it. Besides, as she says 
very sensibly, " If you or I want to buy lace to trim a 
dress, we get the quantity we require, and do not go in 
for yards and yards more as you have here." ^ Altogether 
she was very complimentary, and I reflect that the 
Mechlin is mine now with extreme satisfaction. 

M. Uebel has been named secretary at Copenhagen ; 
he is pleased, as he only had a temporary post here. 
His successor is to be a M. de Pfuel ; I hope he 
will be nice, and unmarried. 

Now that our friends the G.'s are gone to Monaco J^^in, 

May 30. 

our life is very quiet. Only M. de Pfuel occa- 
sionally breaks in on our retirement. He is very 
nice and pleasant, but too restless for Turin ; however, 
the heat will soon bring him to reason ; he is beginning 
to complain of it already, and yet it is nothing to speak 
of at present. 

We have had the kindest possible letters from the June 17. 
G.'s, asking us to pay them a visit at Monaco, and we 
are thinking of going to them next week. The heat 
here is setting in in good earnest, and we keep at home 
as much as possible during the day, going out after dark 
like the moths. By the time we have had tea we are 
able to read and occupy ourselves a little. 

We started on Monday evening, enchanted to leave La Con- 
Turin behind us, and got to Cuneo by the railway. 

^ I certainly was never able to wear the whole together excepting 
at Court, when both petticoat and train were entirely trimmed with 
it. I have also been recently assured that it is practically unique 
on account of its great width (13^ inches), Mechlin is usually 
half that, and connoisseurs are at a loss to explain how such an 
immense number of bobbins can have been employed. 



70 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

All night long we went up hill in the diligence. C. 
and I had the coupe to ourselves, having taken the 
three places. R.'t was outside, and rather felt the cold. 
In the grey of the morning we began to ascend the real 
Col di Tenda, a very long business. Before we reached 
the top the sun was shining brightly. The driver 
amused himself all the way up by decorating his mules 
with bouquets of wild red rhododendrons — la rose des 
Alpes^ which I had never seen before. The mountain 
sides were covered with it and many lovely flowers. 
The men had bunches in their hats, and even stuck 
them about the old diligence^ so that we looked quite 
festive. C. and R. walked up a good part of the way 
and let me out near the top, to enjoy the scenery. 
Then began the descent, about which I must own I felt 
rather nervous, as I had never crossed a mountain 
before, and this pass has a bad reputation. The 
instant you have done climbing one side you see the 
way down before you, horrible zig-zags clinging on to 
the precipice, with the town of Tenda right below, ever 
so far down at the bottom. I did not like it at all at 
first, but the driver seemed to know every turn of the 
road so well, and the two mules that remained of all 
those that had dragged us up seemed so steady and 
surefooted, that one's confidence revived. Neverthe- 
less I was very glad to get to Tenda at last. We had 
some coffee there, the only meal allowed us till we 
reached Nice that evening. We came on to Monaco 
and la Condamine next morning, where we were most 
warmly received by our friends the G.'s. 

It is one of the loveliest spots you can imagine. 
Even in the worst heat of the day there is a fresh 

^ My youngest brother, Richard Waddington, now Senator in 
France. 



TURIN 71 

breeze from the sea, which, after the want of air at 
Turin, really puts new life into one. From the window 
of the room where I am writing I can see a little bit 
of the sea, so intensely blue against the white rocks of 
Monaco. The flies are a sad drawback to comfort ; 
they really remind me of the plagues of Egypt ; the 
whole table is covered with their dead bodies, for we 
have some very efficient mort aux mouches poison for 
them. They die in such quantities that when the 
rooms are swept out in the morning there are great 
heaps of them in the passages, which have a fade^ 
sickening odour. I never saw anything like them. 

It is really exceedingly difficult to write here. I got 
some ink from the cook, who seems to be the only 
person who possesses any, but the Prince carried it oflF 
last night, and I could not finish my letter. The whole 
household goes on in a most surprising fashion, and I 
must confess that we have had some rather disagreeable 
surprises since our arrival here. The first was, that 
after being shown to our rooms, which are quite nice, 
we found that the bed was not made up, nor was there 
linen of any kind put out. As we had just been 
received with the greatest kindness and hospitality, we 
thought this must be some neglect on the part of the 
servants, and at last I went in search of the Princess's 
old Russian nurse, whom I know from Turin. With 
some difficulty I made her understand what I wanted, 
for she only speaks Russian. She in her turn explained, 
chiefly by signs, that she was waiting for me to give her 
the necessary linen, &c. This was quite a new view of 
the case, and I told her I did not travel with house- 
linen, and had none to produce. She looked surprised, 
and rather contemptuous I thought, but finally had the 
bed made, and gave us one towel. Now I hope that 



72 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

you may never be reduced to the use of one towel for 
two persons ; it is neither an easy nor a pleasant 
experience. The next morning C. wished to have a 
bath in the sea, and wanted to take our unique treasure 
with him. Of course I opposed this steadfastly, and 
clung firmly to the towel ! After his swim, poor C. 
tried sitting in the sun on the rocks to dry, but the 
police interfered, and informed him that at Monaco 
people were not allowed to sit about without any 
garments ! Now it is all right, as I had finally to 
appeal to the Princess, and we have as much linen as 
we want, but it seems that it really is the Russian 
custom, and that people of a certain class always do 
travel with all the necessary linen, sometimes even with 
their beds, as the accommodation in the inns and post- 
houses is so very inferior. But this is not the only new 
experience we have had. I hope you will not be too 
much shocked to hear that we are rapidly becoming 
acquainted with the mysteries of roulette, rouge et 
noir, &c., and that we gamble regularly every evening ! 
We had heard vague rumours at Turin, and the other 
Russians had hinted, that the beauties of nature and the 
flowers of Monaco were not the only attractions that 
the G.'s found here — that there existed a casino with 
roulette and other games ; but we had hardly paid any 
attention, thinking it only some of the usual gossip 
which is always going on ; besides, we had seen so much 
of the quiet family life of our friends that it did not 
seem likely that any such sudden change would come 
over it. Since we are here, however, I am sorry to say we 
find the mechantes langues were right, and that gambling 
at the casino takes a large place in the interests and 
occupations of the day. The Prince is immensely fond 
of play, and as he is not generally very lucky, always 



TURIN 73 

wants, as gamblers do, de se rattraper and make 
good his losses, and his occasional runs of good fortune 
only strengthen him in this desire. The other day on 
entering the rooms he went straight up to the table 
and put down a napoleon on the number seventeen. It 
came out, and a golden rain of seventeen napoleons was 
showered on it ; but that kind of thing does not happen 
often, and I am afraid he must have lost rather heavily. 
Indeed, we have private reasons for being unpleasantly 
aware of it. C. had reckoned on some money he lent 
the Prince some time ago to pay his return journey to 
Turin. When, however, he asked G. to return the loan, 
he said it was quite impossible. As we have all luxuries, 
and drink champagne every day, this was rather startling, 
and moreover decidedly awkward, for C.'s leave is 
nearly up, and letters take such a time between Turin 
and this place. He had hardly any money left, and 
really did not know exactly what to do. The gaming 
tables seem the only resource in this out of the way 
corner, and C. tried his luck at roulette. It is, how- 
ever, quite a different thing, I assure you, playing for 
money you really want, and on which a good deal de- 
pends, or merely venturing a few francs to keep other 
people company ; it is, indeed, quite painfully exciting. 
Fortunately the stakes are low, and you can begin with 
two francs. C. chose the red, which came out time 
after time, the little heap of silver growing apace and 
then changing to gold. When it got up to sixty or 
eighty francs my nerve gave way, I must confess, and I 
besought him to take it up before the croupier's rake 
should carry it all away. He was firm happily, and 
said he would only stop when he had enough for his 
purpose, and the red responded to his confidence, so that 
he soon had all he wanted. It was a great relief to see 



74 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

him pocket it safely and know that Brassier would not 
have to be applied to, and he would be able to get to 
Turin in proper time. R. has no luck, positively — 
whatever he puts down on the table is instantly 
gathered up by the croupier, so that I don't think this 
first experiment of gambling is likely to give him any 
taste for it — a thing to be most thankful for ! He is, 
indeed, so hard up, poor fellow, that it is not quite 
apparent how he is to get to Turin. He went on foot 
to Mentone yesterday for cogent reasons, and intended 
proceeding along the Riviera, perhaps picking up a 
diligence on the way. 

So now C. has gone and I am left alone here, and 
cannot say that the life is exactly what I should 
choose. There are certainly few resources, excepting the 
casino. The G.'s have subscribed to a lending library at 
Nice, but have not taken the trouble to make out a list or 
select any books, so the people send them any rubbish 
that comes handy, and I have never yet seen such a 
collection of bad French novels. There is not a decent 
book in the whole lot, and I am reading the " Memoires 
de Ninon de TEnclos," which are not edifying, abso- 
lutely faute de mieux. Even the garden, which from 
description would seem an earthly Paradise, has its 
drawbacks. It is let to the great parfumier Rimmel, 
and on certain days of the week the hot, heavy smell 
of the poor roses, or jessamines, or verbenas being 
boiled and distilled to death is quite sickening. It is 
so hot one cannot move about at all in the day ; the 
Princess has reduced her costume to absolutely the last 
limits, une chemise et un jupon. We sit about rather 
listlessly and play with the little boy, or talk, or read 
bad novels till evening comes ; then the only carriage 
in the place takes us to the casino — a beautiful drive, 



TURIN 75 

winding up all round the Monaco peninsula, with 
lovely peeps of blue sea through the wild, almost 
tropical vegetation. The casino is on a square at 
the top of the hill, just opposite the palace of the 
Prince of Monaco. In general there is no one there, 
and the croupiers are all looking out of windows 
smoking and doing nothing till the carriage drives 
up. "Ah! voila le Prince," and they all take their 
places. We are not absolutely alone, for there is a 
sprinkling of ruined gamblers who have settled down 
in the place and look on at the game, risking a few 
francs now and then. I am getting so tired of the 
continual refrain of the croupiers, " Faites votres jeu, 
messieurs," "Faites votres jeu," " Rien ne va plus," 
&c., and the sharp click of the ball rolling round ; but 
of course I cannot sit and look on, so that I gamble 
also, but with great caution not to exhaust my slender 
resources. After playing for some time we get into 
the carriage again, and return to la Condamine through 
the heavenly night. The Prince has what they call 
a martingale for playing roulette — a system which is 
supposed to be infallible if you follow it exactly. He 
is very anxious to study it thoroughly, so we all bring 
back the cards on which we pricked the game the 
night before, and go over them with him in a shady 
corner, the Princess and I marking with beans. As 
you see, the life is neither good nor particularly 
amusing. C. wishes me very much to go and stay 
with the Pilattes at Nice, who have very kindly 
invited me, rather at his suggestion, I fancy. He 
wants me to be out of this gambling atmosphere. If 
I do go, it certainly will be a change with a vengeance ! 

I have come here from la Condamine, and it Carras, 
would be difficult to imagine a more complete Nice. 



76 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

shifting of scene and surroundings. The family life 
here is so quiet and orderly, with all the children to 
be looked after, and Pilatte coming and going ; it feels 
so natural and pleasant. My present hosts are dread- 
fully shocked at all the Monaco goings on, and feel 
bound, I think, to occupy my time here quite dif- 
ferently. We sit out in the garden nearly all the 
afternoon, and Mdlle. Pilatte has undertaken to teach 
me a wonderful way of darning stockings. It really 
is almost artistic, the web of the knitting being recon- 
structed in such a marvellous way that no trace of a 
hole is left, and the place is rather stronger than 
before. I spend many hours learning this new 
accomplishment, which is by no means easy, and as 
M. Pilatte's stockings have the largest holes they are 
generally given out to me from the mending basket, 
as affording the best opportunities for practice. So 
that at present I am far enough from the roulette and 
Ninon de I'Enclos ! I expect C. here on Sunday, and 
we shall probably return together to Monaco and take 
leave of the G.'s, who, despite the peculiar life they 
lead at present, have been most kind and hospitable. 
We did return to la Condamine for a few days, but 
it was not very pleasant. The Prince is apparently 
losing more and more money and his wife looked 
worried and anxious. They much opposed our 
leaving, and the Prince was obdurate, quite refusing 
to let us have the one carriage of the place, which he 
takes by the month. This was a difficulty, but C, 
who was determined not to leave me there alone again, 
found out, after some inquiries, that there was a path 
or track up the steep hill-side to la Turbia, which 
is immediately above la Condamine, and by which 
one could avoid the long drive round by Rochebrune. 



TURIN 77 

So he ordered a donkey and a boy at five in the 
morning, and we actually escaped from the house while 
all were still asleep, leaving my trunk to be forwarded. I 
had a delightful ride up to the Turbia in the beautiful 
morning, C. walking by the donkey, with a sort of 
suggestion of la fuite en Egyptey and both enjoying 
the absurdity of the situation. At the Turbia we 
had some coffee with goat's milk — may I never 
drink the like abomination again ! We then took 
the diligence to Nice, and after a few charming 
days with the Pilattes, who spoilt C, to his heart's 
content, we returned here into the stifling heat. I 
am very proud of having managed so well with the 
money C. left me that after playing roulette regularly 
every evening in self-defence I had just enough left to 
pay my washing bill ! This puts the people here in 
fits of amusement when I tell them about it, for indeed 
everybody knows about the gambling and the G.'s life 
and there is no secret to be kept 



CHAPTER IV 

War with Austria — Speech of Victor Emanuel — Birth of my baby — 
Poerio — Dinner at the Stackelbergs' — Ultimatum from Austria 
— Arrival of Garibaldi — French troops enter Turin — Emperor 
Napoleon at Genoa — Battle of Montebello — Visits to the 
hospitals — Magenta — French hospital — Go to Latour with 
Stackelbergs — Peace of Villafranca — Arrival of Emperor of the 
French and Victor Emanuel in Turin. 

THE beginning of the year 1859 was marked by 
some memorable incidents. First the Emperor 
Napoleon's fateful words to the Austrian Ambassador, 
Baron de Hiibner, at the New Year's reception at the 
Tuileries, " I regret that the relations between us are 
bad " — words which were, of course, spread far and 
wide, and commented on in every direction. Ten 
days after this Victor Emanuel declared in a speech at the 
opening of the Piedmontese Parliament that he was 
" not insensible to the grido di dolore (cry of pain) 
which reached him from so many parts of Italy." An 
irresistible burst of applause testified to the sympathy 
awakened in the whole assembly, and many of the 
Italian exiles who had found protection and shelter 
under the constitutional rule of King Victor Emanuel 
were moved to tears. I well remember my husband 
returning from the ceremony still under the impression 
of the enthusiasm and emotion of the scene. The next 
link in the chain of events was the marriage, at the end 

of January, of the King's eldest daughter, Mme. Clotilde 

78 




I'RIN'CE NAPOLEON AND HIS BKIDE, 
MAUAME CLOTILDE DE SAVOIE. 



To face p. 79-1 



TURIN 79 

de Savoie, with the Prince Napoleon, first cousin of the 
French Emperor. This marriage was much criticised 
and deplored in Turin society, and the young Princess 
was often spoken of by the great dowager ladies as *' la 
premiere victime de la guerre." The different Powers 
sought in vain to bring the Cabinets of Vienna and 
Turin into agreement and to stay the warlike prepara- 
tions, which were becoming more and more menacing. 

Although the year 1859 was destined to be so 
eventful and such a landmark in the history of Italy, 
it began quietly enough. People in general did not 
believe in war. It was thought that the French as a 
nation did not desire it, and that England and Prussia 
were both decidedly against an appeal to arms in Italy 
until a European Congress had tried to settle the 
matters in dispute, so that despite of all the rumours 
in the air our daily life went on much as usual. 

My baby was born in January, 1859, and my 
mother, who had been staying with me for two 
months, returned to France. 



I have been out for the first time with the baby and Turin, 
nurse, and felt very matronly and rather queer. Apart 1859.*^ ' 
from sentiment, however, I find them a great pro- 
tection, and was much more comfortable than when 
going about alone. The mountains were glorious, 
the air delightful, and the Place d'Armes enlivened 
by cheery bugle calls and groups of soldiers exercising 
in all directions. 

Some Italian gentlemen called on C. the other day 
whom he was evidently very pleased and interested to 
see. While listening to their conversation, I suddenly 
became aware that one of them, a mild, placid-looking 



8o IN THREE LEGATIONS 

man, was talking with a quite startling familiarity 
of prisons and galleys, and at last I heard him state 
distinctly that he himself had lived for some time 
chained to a galley-slave ! This assertion, made 
quietly by someone sitting in my drawing-room, was 
almost too much for me, and I suppose I must have 
betrayed my astonishment in some way, for C. laughed 
and said, " You can see that my wife does not read the 
newspapers, for while all Europe is ringing with your 
adventures, she knows nothing of them." Then there 
was an explanation, and I heard that the quiet-looking 
man was the Baron Poerio,i one of the political victims 
of the King of Naples, who had been in the galleys 
with Settembrini and others for years. Public opinion 
had at last forced the King to set them free, and they 
were to have been taken to America to be out of the 
way. A son of Settembrini's, however, concealed him- 
self as a sailor on board the ship, and when on the 
high seas, aided by his comrades, took possession of 
the vessel and brought it straight to England, where 
they were received with enthusiasm. It really was 
wonderful to see a man who had suffered so much 



^ January 14, 1859, Lord Amptill, then Mr. Odo Russell, wrote ^ 
from Rome an account of an interview he had with the Pope, in the ff 
course of which His Holiness mentioned that an extensive amnesty- 
was to be granted by the King of Naples on the occasion of his 
son's marriage. Mr. Russell asked if political prisoners were to be 
included in it. " Yes," answered the Pope ; " I saw the name or 
Settembrini, and I think also of that man in whom your Government 
took so much interest — his name begins with a P." " Poerio," Mr. 
Russell suggested. " That is the name," the Pope continued ; " they 
are to be sent to Cadiz at the expense of the King, they are to be 
clothed and receive some money, and after that arrangements have 
been made with the Minister of the U.S. to have them conveyed to 
that country ; they are to be exiled for life." — Correspondence of 
Queen Victoria. 




BARON I'OERIO. 



To face p. 80.] 



TURIN 8i 

injustice for his country's sake, and yet did not seem 
in the least soured or embittered. He said that his 
knowledge of poetry, and especially of Dante, had 
been a great help to him. He could repeat whole 
cantos by heart, and so raise his mind from the 
dreadful and sordid conditions around him. Still, to 
live chained night and day to a common murderer ! It 
makes the imagination reel to try and realise it ! It is 
true that I do not read the newspapers much, still, I 
think C. might have mentioned such a remarkable and 
interesting story, and not left me in such complete 
ignorance. 

Did I tell you how kind Count Kayserling (our 
colleague at the Legation) was while we were away at 
Cannes, coming here himself to inquire all about the baby 
and then writing that all was well. I am quite in love 
with the baby, independently of being his mamma, he is 
so pretty now, with dark blue eyes, bright and sparkling. 

We are beginning Turin life again, and have dined April i8. 
at the G.'s and at the Stackelbergs'. The last was a 
grand affair, and I had an aide-de-camp of the King to 
take me in, who was interesting to talk with. He told 
me that for the last month he has had everything 
packed and ready to go to the war, and that at times 
they had been in momentary expectation of departure ! 
This sounded rather startling, as the talk we hear is 
all about Congresses and everything being peaceably 
settled by the intervention of the Powers. He also 
told me about King Vittorio's visit to England,^ and 

' It is interesting to read Queen Victoria's impressions of King 
Victor Emanuel at the time of this very visit to England. She 
writes to the King of the Belgians, December 5, 1855 : " My time 
was entirely taken up with my royal brother the King of Sardinia. 
He is ' eine ganz besondere, abenteuerliche Erscheinung ' (a most 

7 



82 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

the great fatigue of such expeditions, with the constant 
moving about, the quantities of meals, and the necessity 
of being always amiable and enchanted with every- 
thing. " Je vous assure, madame, que j'ai passe des 
mois dans les montagnes, pour des travaux de genie, 
vivant avec les paysans, mangeant de la polenta, et que 
j'en ai joui, mais dix jours de plus d'un voyage comme 
celui la m'auraient tue." 

I can hardly feel properly sorry for papa's rheuma- 
tism, if it brings him to Aix again ! I hope the war 
will not in any way interfere with this peaceful plan, 
and that I may present his grandson to him — " le petit 
prince hereditaire " as Pfuel and Kayserling call him. 

Yesterday there was an alarming rumour about an 
ultimatum having been sent to the Government here 
by Austria. If it was not accepted, people said, hostili- 
ties were to begin in three days ! At such times Turin 
feels unpleasantly near the frontier, but the ultimatum 
has not come yet. Many people here, however, are 
reported to have hidden their plate and valuables, and 
a certain amount of anxiety prevails. 

After all, as I suppose you know by this time, war is 
almost certain. Even when I was writing yesterday, 
the ultimatum had arrived at Turin. It came very 
quietly, brought by two Austrian officers, a Baron 
Kellersperg and his companion, who went at once to 
our Legation, which represents Austria here at present. 

peculiar and adventurous personality) when you first see him. He 
is so frank, open, just, straightforward, liberal, and tolerant, with 
much sound good sense. He never breaks his word and you may 
rely on him, but wild and extravagant, courting adventures and 
dangers, and with a very strange, short, rough manner. To-day he 
will be invested with the Order of the Garter. He is more like a 
knight or king of the Middle Ages than anything one knows 
nowadays." 



TURIN 83 

C. was writing as usual in the Chancellerie, when the 
servant announced that two gentlemen from Lombardy 
wanted to speak to Son Excellence. C. replied that 
Son Excellence was out, and the gentlemen from Lom- 
bardy must wait. He then went on quietly writing, 
little thinking it was the messengers of peace or war 
that he left in the ante-room. The fact is that after 
the first rumour people did not believe in Austria 
sending an ultimatum. Of course, as soon as Brassier 
returned the scene changed completely, and the im- 
portance of the situation was fully realised. The Chief 
at' once took the two Austrians to Count Cavour ; they 
delivered the ultimatum into his hands and are now 
lodged at the Legation till next Tuesday, when they 
depart and take war with them, unless something 
happens in the interval, for there is no doubt that 
Cavour will refuse the terms they brought. ^ I wonder 
when the French troops will arrive. Everything is as 
quiet as possible here ; the Austrian gentlemen could 
hardly believe their eyes, as they expected to find 
Turin all in commotion. I am rapidly getting fond of 
the Piedmontese, who are decidedly plucky, and even 
of that gruff-looking Vittorio Emanuele, " il nostre Re 
leale " (our loyal King), as he is always called. They 
say the ultimatum is most impertinent, demanding the 
instant disarmament of Piedmont. C. was all day at 
the Legation, and when he came back to dinner did 
not yet know the result of the interview with Cavour. 
Pfuel and Kayserling came in the evening to tell us 

^ The Earl of Derby wrote to Queen Victoria : " Downing Street, 
April 21, 1859. — T^^Q only step which can properly be taken at 
present is to protest strongly against the course which Austria is 
now taking, and to warn her that, whatever may be the results to 
herself, she deprives herself of all claim to the support and counten- 
ance of England." 



84 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

that there was no doubt the conditions would be 
refused, and then C. went to the club, where the 
whole world was in uproar. It is exciting. I shall be 
dreadfully disgusted if the Austrians get the best of it. 
The rice fields towards Lombardy are to be flooded in 
order to retard the march of the Austrians and gain 
time until the French arrive. Turin, fortunately, is 
quite an open town, which can neither be taken nor 
defended. 

If there is the smallest disturbance we go at once 
to the Legation, where there is plenty of room, but 
the town is so quiet you would not imagine there 
was anything extraordinary going on, and even the 
volunteers for the army who pour in every day from 
all parts of Italy make no sort of uproar. Pray don't 
be in any state of mind about us. We have the 
Legation as a resource, but at present that appears 
quite unnecessary, I enclose the Opinione of to-day 
with Cavour's speech. 

I suppose you will like to have news often just at 
present, when we flatter ourselves the eyes of all 
Europe are turned this way. The Sardinian troops 
marched from the town this morning ; I was too late 
to see them, to my great regret. C. said the artillery 
looked very well in marching order. As you know, 
all the oflicers belong to the nobility, as it is the arme 
d' elite here. 

The church was very full yesterday, Easter Sunday, 
and Meille, who is Italianissimo, spoke feelingly of 
the war, and of the Re magnanimo^ who was going 
forth at the head of the army to risk everything for 
the cause so dear to all. Almost all the congregation 
remained for the Communion, and there was some- 
thing very solemn in the whole scene. Poor C. could 




PALAZZO MADAMA, WITH VEI.A S STATUE OF PIEDMONTESE SOLDIER 
IN THE CRIMEA. 



To face p. 85.] 



TURIN 85 

only come for the celebration and had to leave immedi- 
ately after, there being so much to do at the Legation. 
On my return I met Kayserling, who accompanied me 
home, giving me good advice in a paternal manner and 
exhorting me not to be frightened, which I don't feel 
at all disposed to be. 

After writing to you I went out with nurse and 
baby, and I must say the perfect quiet was rather 
grand ; the people were all walking about in their new 
clothes for Easter, as if there were no such things as 
war and ultimatums in the world ! The two Austrians 
are, it seems, much struck by the " assurance " of the 
population while their fate is, as it were, trembling in 
the balance. As we passed the railway-station an 
immense band of volunteers for the Piedmontese army 
arrived from Genoa, as they do by every train. The 
crowd applauded and clapped hands as they passed, 
two and two, a curious assemblage — men of all ranks 
and conditions, some grey-haired, others quite young, 
some ragged, others well-dressed, but all with a deter- 
mined, business-like silent look, which is said to 
promise well with Italians, who on all former occasions 
gave vent to their feelings in singing and shouting and 
writing sonnets. Most of these men come at the peril 
of their lives — ^for many of them are fired at as they 
cross the frontiers — to enrol themselves as common 
soldiers in the Sardinian army ; not a particularly 
attractive life ! As soon as they arrive they are taken 
possession of by Piedmontese non-commissioned officers, 
marched off to the citadel, and set at once to their drill. 
Many of them are nobles from the different parts of 
the country — we have been told it is by the chaus- 
sure you can best recognise the differences of class — 
but all are led by the same devotion to Italy, and an 



86 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

enthusiasm for liberty and a great cause which is very 
contagious. 

The ultimatum was given into Cavour's hands on 
Saturday at five. On Tuesday, at five, the three days 
expire. Cavour has been entreated not to answer until 
the last moment, as something might possibly happen 
to give another turn to events. Hudson arrived to- 
day ; who knows what he may bring ? I confess, 
though, I have little faith in peace now. Things 
have come to such a pass that they must be fairly 
fought out ; any arrangements made by a Congress at a 
distance could hardly be brought to bear on people 
wrought up to the pitch of excitement and determina- 
tion the Piedmontese now are. 

Yesterday C. dined at the Legation with the two 
Austrians and went with them afterwards to the theatre. 
They cannot be left to go about alone, as the Legation 
is in a manner responsible for them, and Count Kellers- 
perg being known here, they naturally attract great 
attention wherever they appear. It seems they don't 
belong to the war party at all, poor fellows, so it must 
be rather an unpleasant business for them. They have 
called on us, and seem to expect to be back here very 
soon with the Austrian army ; they told us to be sure 
to have the Prussian flag at our windows and that no 
harm would happen to us. 

C. and I walked to the Place Chateau this morning, 
and I saw Vela's magnificent statue of the Piedmontese 
soldier in the Crimea defending his colours for the first 
time since it has been put in its place at the entrance 
of the old building where the Senate sits. As it was 
ordered and paid for by a subscription amongst the 
Milanese and intended to be a token of sympathy and 
admiration for the Piedmontese army, as well as a pro- 



TURIN 87 

test against foreign rule, it certainly will be one of the 
first victims should the Austrians come here. They 
will either destroy it or take it to Vienna ! It is a 
splendid, thing. 

I want so much to know when the King will go to 
join the army. I should like to see that. 

Nothing new as yet. It was said yesterday that the April 26. 
French were at Chambery, in which case they might, 
perhaps, arrive to-day. Of course, we are looking out 
for them with great impatience. Garibaldi and his 
people came last night — crowds were waiting for them 
at our station, but they were sent round to the Novara 
railway to avoid any demonstration. Everything is 
done as quickly and quietly as possible, and from the 
look of the streets I don't think you would know 
that anything particular was going on. To-day at five 
the Austrians get their answer, but will still dine at the 
Chief's, as Cavour regrets deeply that the railway is so 
busy transporting troops that it is impossible for him 
to put a special train at their disposal ; they must there- 
fore wait till the ordinary train goes. It seems 
one of them was waxing decidedly cross yesterday. It 
is said that Cavour is rather amused at being besieged 
by entreaties to take time and not to hurry with his 
answer to the ultimatum. He has no wish at all to 
hurry — every minute that passes before the Austrians 
leave is so much gained for his preparations, and I 
fancy he has made good use of his time. From what 
one hears this ultimatum has been quite a boon to 
him ! He had just been made, by great pressure from 
the Powers, to consent to a disarmament under certain 
conditions, and was in despair at seeing all his long 
deeply laid plans, and all his hopes for the liberation 
of Italy, destroyed, or deferred for any length of time. 



88 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

Austria, by taking this sudden and unexpected step, has 
not only made war inevitable, ^ but put all the wrong 
on her side and played into his hands completely. 
Cavour is not musical, but it is reported that he has 
been heard humming " Di quella pirra," a stirring air 
from the " Trovatore," which is supposed to be a sign 
of extreme satisfaction on his part. 

There is nothing new at all at present, excepting the 
good news from Florence which you will have seen in 
the papers. The Grand Duke, remembering that he 
has always declared he considered himself as an Austrian 
Aj-ch-Duke in the first place, and only secondly as Grand 
Duke of Tuscany, has left Florence and gone to the 
Austrian camp.^ A provisional government was 
formed on his departure, which has instantly placed the 
Tuscan army at the disposal of Victor Emanuel. 

We are still expecting the French troops. The day 
before yesterday they were expected to arrive here in 
the evening, which was really not possible. I rushed 
off, however, to the Novara station with Anna (C. was 
at the farewell dinner to the Austrians at the Legation). 

* Queen Victoria wrote : — 

"Windsor Castle, April i6, 1859. 

" I have no hope of peace left ... it is the madness and blindness 
of Austria which have brought on the war now. It has put them 
in the wrong and entirely changed the feeling here into the most 
vehement sympathy for Sardinia." 

« As late as the 24th of April a last effort was made to induce 
the Grand Duke to enter into an alliance with Piedmont. 
Buoncompagni, the Sardinian Minister in Florence, submitted a 
note to this effect to the Tuscan Government. It was rejected. 
Notwithstanding this rebuff, he sent his secretary, Marchese Spinola, 
to expostulate with the most important members of the Court, but 
he was everywhere received with a pitying smile and the assurance 
that all Europe would join to defend the Austrian possessions in 
Italy and to fight the revolutionary Emperor of the French. 



TURIN 89 

We waited for a long time, hoping to see the well-known 
uniform of the Chasseurs de Vincennes, who it is said 
will be the first to arrive. Even without the soldiers 
the sight was very fine — the whole range of Alps 
clear against the sky, with the Monte Rosa glowing in 
the last rays of the setting sun ; the station decorated 
with flags, partly French, partly Italian ; the assembled 
crowd animated and excited, with the ideas of war, 
independence, liberty, &c., floating in the air. At the 
farewell dinner to the Austrians at the Legation, Count 
Kellersperg's last words were, " Auf Wiedersehen in 
einigen Tagen in Turin " (^Ju revoir in a few days in 
Turin). 

Yesterday I went with C. to the Cathedral, where 
there was a service for the success of the war. The 
church was all hung with red silk outside, and there 
was an inscription to " II Re e Esercito d'ltalia," &c. 
There was a great crowd, and no possibility of getting 
inside, but we had the satisfaction of hearing La Tour 
d' Auvergne (the French Minister) well clapped as he 
descended from his gala equipage. 

There has been a requisition de guerre of a number 
of horses here, and the poor Marquise Momina Spinola, 
an old lady you must remember, has had a horse taken 
from .her which she declares was twenty-one years old, 
and of which she was very fond. 

It is said that Austria has at last accepted the inter- 
vention of England. Too late, I hope ! It would be 
a pity to stop things when they are going on so well ! 
However, C. has warned me not to express my Italian 
sympathies too openly, and I must try to keep my 
feelings more to myself, though it is difficult. 

At last we have seen the French avant garde enter Ap"i 3°' 
Turin this morning ! We were up at six, and had to 



90 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

wait more than an hour, but the morning was fine, and 
to our great consolation the etat major arrived very 
little after we did and had also to wait. There was 
an immense crowd and great enthusiasm. The 
Chasseurs de Vincennes looked tired and dusty, 
and some of them had bouquets of flowers stuck 
on their bayonets. Canrobert put himself at their 
head, and I got a good glimpse of him. We saw 
him yesterday evening returning from the camp at 
Chivasse with the King, who had on a little forage 
cap. At this moment the little chasseurs are spread- 
ing all over the town, the people following them 
about and gazing at them with wonder. Genoa is 
said to be full of French soldiers. 1 went 
yesterday to Mme. de St. Germain's day, for visit- 
ing continues just as usual, and is even rather interest- 
ing at present, as one hears a good deal of what is 
going on. Three of her Visconti nephews, who are 
Milanese, are in the Piedmontese army. The eldest, 
the Duke Visconti, is at the Military School at Ivrea. 
Another brother has enlisted as a private in the 
cavalry, and the third has just been admitted to 
Ivrea too. 

The town is peopled with French. Our rue 
Lagrange, although so near the Genoa station, is 
comparatively quiet, and we see nothing from the 
windows ; but hardly an hour passes without hearing 
the sound of drums or bugles, whereupon I feel 
impelled to sally forth with Anna to see what is 
going on. This evening it was the departure of 
some French troops who had been fraternising with 
the inhabitants all day. 

According to Anna, the scene was ruhrend (touch- 
ing). I am afraid it struck me in a more amusing 



TURIN 91 

light, though the idea that the poor fellows may 
perhaps be fighting to-morrow makes it serious 
enough. Some of them were embracing the Pied- 
montese, and taking leave in very high-flown style — 
"Adieu, freres," &c. These, however, were the 
retardataires. The greater number marched into the 
station in good order, amid repeated cries of " Vive 
les Fran^ais ! " "Vive le Piemont ! " There are 
great rumours of hostilities, and one skirmish is said 
to have taken place, in which an Austrian officer was 
killed. Poor man ! he is the first victim. I think 
you are in need of being a little spirited up about 
the war, as you seem inclined to take a dismal 
view of it. Austria by this last move of the ultima- 
tum " a mis tous les torts de son cote," ^ and it is 
a guerra giusta (a just war), if ever there was one, as 
is continually said here — a struggle to maintain the 
liberty and independence of Piedmont, and to help the 
States of Italy which are more or less directly under 
the foreign rule of Austria. It is no use sending 
you the Opinione any more, for we are governed by a 
Dictator now, and a very severe law has been passed 
about the Press, forbidding it to write about the 
war. Cavour says the papers may talk about Cochin 
China as much as they like, but nothing but official 
news shall they publish of what happens nearer home. 
The consequence is that they have suddenly become 
most uninteresting. 

It is well you like to hear about the baby, for I have ^^y 5- 
not much else to write about ; everything is so quiet 
here, perhaps a trifle stiller than usual. Since last 

^ The Earl of Derby to Queen Victoria, April 27, 1859. He 
had described Austria's action in a speech in the City as "hasty, 
precipitate, and (because involving warfare) criminal." 



92 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

Sunday, when there was so much fraternising, the 
French troops are taken direct from one railway 
station to the other outside the town. Some say it 
is to save time, others that Canrobert declared " qu'on 
lui gatait ses soldats." At present the two hostile 
armies are almost in presence, and a battle may be 
expected any day. The bad weather has prevented 
any great movements these last days. The river Dora 
which the Austrians are trying to cross is, happily, not 
the one near Turin, but the Dora Baltea, which comes 
down from Aosta and Ivrea, and forms an angle in 
joining the Po near Chivasso. This angle is, I 
believe, occupied by the Piedmontese camp, and 
strongly fortified. The other evening we were at 
the Arconatis'. As they are exiled Lombards, and 
had their estates sequestrated in 1853, there was 
much excitement and exultation amongst the com- 
pany, and talk of the " futur royaume de haute 
Italie," &c. It is annoying that the people here 
always call the Austrians les Allemands^ which sounds 
almost personal. The Arconatis have property in 
Piedmont just where the Austrians crossed the 
frontier, and it is not likely to have been improved 
by that operation. Happily, they are so rich, and 
have so many properties in all directions, that one 
spoilt one will not do them much harm. Pray don't 
be anxious about us. Turin is, I should think, about 
the quietest place one could be in just now. Genoa 
seems much more excited. Some volunteers still come 
in, and to-day they say some French are to arrive. 

Only a line to prevent your being anxious. Yester- 
day evening we were at the Stackelbergs', all making 
" charpie." The Princess G. has returned from Nice, 
after various adventures. She was obliged to wait 



TURIN 93 

three days at Genoa, as the railway was blocked on 
account of the passage of French troops, with one 
franc in her pocket — so she says — but happily met 
some Russians, who came to her assistance. The 
Prince had returned to Turin, intending to send her 
and the children to Nice, but finding all so quiet 
here, wrote to her that she had better come home. 

On Monday there was again an alarm about the 
Austrians, who were said to have entered Ivrea. 
Some of Garibaldi's men who came into Turin from 
that direction were thought to be retiring before them, 
and there was a slight panic. Why General Ginlay 
did not march upon Turin long ago, and take pos- 
session of the town before the French had time to 
arrive, no one can understand. That seemed to be 
the Austrian plan when the officers with the ultimatum 
were here.'f Now the Austrian troops have evacuated 
Vercelli, and no one knows what they are after, except 
plundering ! Meantime everything goes on as usual 
here. Last week we had still a few French troops 
passing through amid much enthusiasm. We went 
several times to see them enter the station, which is 
always amusing. Nearly all of them carried flowers, 
some of them really beautiful bouquets, bunches of 
lilies of the valley, &c. Joking and boasting went on 
at a great rate. Once there was a stoppage, and a 
soldier called out, "II n'y a done plus moyen d'y aller 
maintenant en Autriche } " One old sergeant stated 
distinctly that he had forgotten his matches, where- 

' Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians, May 9, 1859 : 
" What are the Austrians about ? They would not wait when they 
ought to have done so, and nozv that they should long ago have 
made a rush and an attack with an overwhelming force they do 
nothing! Nothing since the 30th ! Leaving the French to become 
stronger and more fit for the struggle every day ! " 



94 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

upon a box of them was instantly handed to him out 
of the crowd. He cried " Vive le Piemont ! " and 
proceeded to light a big cigar. The soldiers were all 
smoking cavours, as the one-sou cigars are called here, 
and quantities were given them as they passed. Some- 
times the men got into great confusion, and the officers 
swore a good deal. " A ^a, voltigeurs, degagez-vous, 
mais degagez-vous done ! Demi tour a droite," &c. 
The voltigeurs were all chatting and talking, and did 
not pay the slightest attention. Another officer came 
up — " Prenez-les par la gauche, capitaine." But that 
did not seem to answer much better. The confusion 
went on, and the cheering, " Eviva la Francia ! Vive 
le Piemont ! " and the chceur des Girondins^ which they 
have adapted to the occasion, turning " Mourir pour la 
patrie " into " Mourir pour I'ltahe, c'est le sort le plus 
beau, le plus digne d'envie." Then " A bas I'Autriche, 
les Autrichiens c'est de la canaille," &c., till at last they 
were all got into the station. 

There are all sorts of anecdotes about the French 
officers who have been lodged in the houses here. 
The Arconatis had a major who said, on the Marquis 
presenting him to the Marquise in their grand palazzo^ 
" Bonjour, madame ; je vais me nettoyer ! " The old 
Marquis inquired at what hour he would like to dine. 
He said if was quite the same to him, so " apres 
beaucoup de compliments," Arconati said half-past five 
was their usual hour. " Ecoutez, j'aime mieux six," 
was the answer. 

The old Spinola cannot get over the loss of her 
ancient horse and abuses everything. " Those poor 
Austrians, who only want to live in peace and quiet, 
and have been worried and provoked into war," &c. 
She and many of the old families here, although perfectly 



TURIN 95 

loyal to the King and the House of Savoy, would in 
their own minds infinitely prefer the old traditions 
Austria upholds to the novelties of the Statute, &c. 
I went to Comtesse Robilant's reception on Satur- 
day, Her son is with the King, but as her sympathies 
are very Italian she was in good spirits. Mme. La 
Marmora, the General's wife, was with her. She 
declared "Alphonse" had written to her positively 
that the Austrians will not enter Turin, so she is quite 
reassured. 

We were surprised this morning by an early visit May 14. 
from M. and Mdlle. Pilatte on their way to the 
Vaudois Synod, which I suppose we shall not attend 
this year. They were in a state to see the baby and 
pronounced him magnificent^ to my great satisfaction, as 
they are experienced in babies. Mdlle. Pilatte thinks 
him like my father-in-law, *'il en a le front, et la 
vivacite du regard " ; I have thought so too sometimes. 

I am in despair at our not having been to Genoa to 
see the Emperor Napoleon's arrival on the 1 3th ; we 
did not think of it in time, unfortunately. Pfuel and 
Kayserling, who went, say the sight was unparalleled. 
You could not positively see the sky in the streets of 
the town (which, to be sure, are narrow) for the number 
of flags hanging from every window, in every story. 
The horses of the Emperor's carriage could only 
advance step by step through the crowd. Our two 
colleagues went by special train with the Prince de 
Carignan at night. In the morning they visited all 
the French camps, which are most picturesque, and 
went to see the effect of the illuminations in a boat in 
the harbour in the evening. They were offered a box 
at the theatre for the moderate sum of 400 francs, which 
they refused, and came back the next day enchanted. 



96 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

My only consolation is th&t, as the Princess G. says, 
" C'est une economic. " As for the Aiistrians, they 
seem to have made an end of their plundering raid — 
it really deserves no other name — and have retired. I 
wonder what will happen next. The Emperor, it 
appears, intends campaigning in state and style — his 
people are already busy organising his *' service " of 
provisions and buying up delicacies, &c. That way 
of making war does not appeal to me ! The Stackel- 
bergs are at Genoa, so we are very quiet here. 

I have had a violent cold since I last wrote. The 
weather is raw and unpleasant, and we have fire every 
evening — rather a contrast to the strawberries at dinner 
and all the flowers one sees about. As for the war, we 
scarcely hear anything of it at all. C. has ceased going 
to the club in the evening — there is very little going 
on, and that little is kept as quiet as possible. If the 
Rouen papers have interesting letters from here I con- 
gratulate them, but fear their correspondent must draw 
a good deal on his imagination. 

I suppose you have heard all about the battle of 
Montebello and the victory of the French and Pied- 
montese troops by this time. It is impossible to keep 
things quieter than they do here. In short, it is almost 
a nuisance to be so near the seat of war and have 
nothing but the small annoyances of it. One of these 
is the difficulty of getting change. The hundred-franc 
notes of the bank here are in forced circulation, and 
since it is forbidden to refuse them, no one will take 
them — unless you happen to owe them exactly a hun- 
dred francs. This creates an extreme difficulty in 
paying small bills, for of course the banks give us 
paper, and it is a continual small bother. The prices 
of provisions, too, are rising, but I cannot say we 



TURIN 97 

perceive that much yet, as the cook always took care 
to keep them sufficiently high. It seems he was never 
pleased unless he had made five francs on the day's 
marketing ! We must see how his successor will turn 
out ; he will be the third we have had here. Yesterday 
we went to the races, which were very quiet indeed. 
The Palco della Societa was nearly empty, and there 
was not a face that one knew, except a f^w gentlemen. 
Cavour arrived late, just as we were going away. He 
looks as stout and as pleased as ever. One thing that 
struck me was that all the young men one saw amongst 
the ladies were volunteers in the uniform of common 
soldiers. It was curious to see them sitting by the 
most elegant women, faisant la cour to all the marquises 
and countesses in their coarse rough clothes, with the 
little short infantry sword at one side. Talking of the 
dialect, when the baby goes out all the people look 
after him and say " Che bel masnra," that being Pied- 
montese for " child." 

There is not much new about the war, and yet the May 27. 
number of victims increases steadily. At Mme. de 
Robilant's the other day they were talking about that 
poor young Danesi, whose death you may have seen in 
the papers. He was an only child, and his parents, 
although they wished him to join the army, were fearfully 
anxious about him. He was first in the artillery ; then 
they thought that was too exposed and moved him into 
another corps, and again into another, that he might 
be under his father, who is a general. Count Charles 
de Robilant, who is officier d'ordonnance to the King, 
saw him, and struck by his extreme youth, asked who 
he was, " un enfant si blonde, si rose, si enchante, de 
faire la guerre " ; he was not eighteen ! A ball struck 
him at Montebello and he fell dead on the spot. His 



98 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

father came up a moment afterwards, saw them carrying 
off a dead officer, went up to the bearers, and found it was 
his son ! The poor mother had followed the army step 
by step, living in the neighbouring villages in order to 
be near her child. It is a harrowing story. Another 
young officer's horse fell in one of the de Sonnaz's 
charges — he was found afterwards dead without a 
wound ; the whole charge had passed over him. De 
Sonnaz is named General, and everybody has been to 
congratulate his wife. People say his charges were a 
reckless exploit in the style of Balaclava. The King 
exposes himself dreadfully. His entourage say it is 
just like the time of Charles Albert, only that the latter 
used to take his whole etat major with him, and Victor 
Emanuel only has a few officers. 

Three times since I began to write have I been 
interrupted by troops, Piedmontese, passing under the 
windows. It is pouring rain, but the balconies were 
instantly filled — the bands played and flowers were 
showered down upon the soldiers. Many stopped for 
a moment to embrace some friend en passant. Not- 
withstanding the rain there was a sort of joyful 
" effusion " and enthusiasm which was very striking 
Poor fellows, when one thinks of the blood already 
shed, of the dead and the wounded, le cceur se serre to see 
them marching so steadily and joyfully, to the same 
fate perhaps. The Marquise Arconati sent the other 
day to ask if we had any German books or papers we 
could give her for some poor Alsaciens in the hospital 
here. We took her all we could find, and I am to go 
with her to one of the hospitals to-morrow. She and 
her niece, the Marquise Litta, form part of a society 
to help the wounded set on foot by the Marquise Cos- 
tanza d'Azeglio, a very distinguished and benevolent 
lady here. 



TURIN 99 

The world in general is very anxious about Garibaldi, 
whose success seems almost incredible, as he is reported 
to be on the road to Monza. It is much to be feared 
that he will be surrounded, and his corps run more risk 
than any other, as the Austrians hang all their Garibal- 
dini prisoners. At Mme. de St. Germain's reception 
the whole conversation was about the wounded, or 
news of all the relations people here have in the army. 
" As-tu des nouvelles de ton fils ? " "II va bien ; 
il est avec Cialdini." " Et Checco .? " "II est avec 
Sonnaz ; il n'a rien eu." " Et Alexandre ? " and 
so on without end. But Piola is decidedly the hero 
of the hour. He had trois coups de sabre sur la teie^ 
and was returning to his corps when he saw some 
Piedmontese struggling with Austrians. He rode to 
the rescue and had three fingers of his left hand 
cut off, passed his bridle under his leg and continued 
fighting. Finally another officer, Salasco, got him off. 
A Countess Piola, his pretty sister-in-law, was telling 
the story with great animation. 

Baby has been vaccinated and the doctor who comes 
to look at his arm can't admire him enough. He says 
he is the finest child he has seen since he has been in 
Turin, " il est si fort et si fin." 

I went with Mme. Arconati to visit the Military June 2. 
Hospital here. There were no wounded, only sick 
soldiers, and I was rather disappointed, for the ladies 
do no nursing and only bring books, papers, oranges, 
pastilles, and so on to the convalescents. However, the 
poor fellows seemed very glad to see Mme. Arconati, 
and we found an Alsacien reading one of our German 
books. 

We saw an Austrian prisoner, a Hungarian, taken in 
one of the first little skirmishes, who can speak no 



loo IN THREE LEGATIONS 

known language, and the only way they could manage 
was to put him in the same room with one of 
Garibaldi's men, a Hungarian also, who, though not 
speaking the same dialect, was able to make him under- 
stand. He looked rather like a wild animal in a cage, 
with a bandage round his head. 

There are plenty of wounded now in all the hos- 
pitals here after the victory of Palestro. Mme. 
Arconati was at Vercelli last Monday, the day or 
the first fight, and saw the Emperor there. I would 
fain go to Vercelli, but C. does not seem inclined, 
also he does not approve of my going again to the 
hospitals, so I can find neither a vent for my feel- 
ings nor satisfaction for my curiosity, and feel aggra- 
vated ! The second day at Palestro is said to have 
been very decisive. The King charged in person at 
the head of the Zouaves, despite all entreaties. They 
call him now Le caporal des Zouaves. The Emperor 
is said not to like this. La Marmora had a horse shot 
under him. 

The price of bread has gone up three sous the kilo ! 

I have seen the Austrian prisoners who are at the 
citadel. I was rather ashamed of going to stare, 
but there was a small crowd looking at them 
and they did not seem to mind it, so I went boldly 
up with nurse and baby. They had white coats with 
orange cuffs and collars and blue caps ; they are the 
first Austrian soldiers I have ever seen. Some are from 
the Italian provinces and enchanted to be taken. They 
were gazing down from their barred windows and the 
crowd were staring up at them. Brassier the other day 
saw a gamin making a pied de nez at them ; a Pied- 
montese sergeant came up behind and gave him a good 
box on the ear. The Chief has been also visiting the 



TURIN loi 

hospitals, and says the wounded prisoners seem quite 
touched at the kindness with which they are treated. 
All the wounded were taken up together promiscuously 
and sent off here ; at every station on the road refresh- 
ments — lemonade, all sorts of things — were handed in 
to all, whether French, Austrians, or Piedmontese. 

Of course, you know about the victory of Magenta June 5. 
on the 4th. As much as we do probably, which is 
very little. One has the impression of a fearful battle, 
and that is all, so far. I went with Meille to the 
hospitals to-day, as he had asked me to interpret for 
him to some of the prisoners and C. did not object. 
I am still quite under the impression of the hospitals, 
and yet it is not so bad as I should have thought. 
The first was the worst. It is a former College of 
Jesuits called Le Carmine, which has only been taken 
to put up the wounded for the time being, and is one 
of those large dark brick buildings you see in Turin, 
nearly at the end of Dora Grossa. A good long walk, 
par parenthese^ on a hot day. We provided ourselves 
with caramels, one of the few things the distribution 
of which is allowed, and went in. As in all 
buildings of that kind, there is a big court, sur- 
rounded by a kind of gallery on which the rooms all 
round open. The arrangements seem to have been 
hurriedly made and the place looks anything but clean. 
In the long gallery one saw an endless row of narrow 
beds placed close to one another, on which human forms 
were stretched in all possible positions. Some were 
sitting, some were half dressed. The hot sun was 
shining in at the uncurtained windows ; an official per- 
sonage was taking down the names and regiments of 
the prisoners, accompanied by an interpreter who 
seemed to speak their various dialects ; ladies were going 



102 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

round accompanied by sisters of charity ; quantities 
of people were visiting wounded friends and relations 
— the whole scene was noisy and disturbed, a sad place 
for fever and suffering ! At last we found the poor 
Hungarian we were in search of. He kissed Meille's 
hand fervently again and again, but that was all, for 
no word could they interchange. A comrade in the 
next bed understood a little Italian and translated a few 
questions, but it was melancholy work — and yet the 
poor fellows seemed pleased just to see a clergyman. 
The first time Meille came one of them cried bitterly 
because he could not speak to him, but to-day he 
seemed indifferent ; he has a ball through his body 
and suffers dreadfully. I pitied the poor prisoners 
from my heart, not but that they seemed to be treated 
exactly the same as the others, but they looked so lost 
and bewildered. 

It was really a relief to go to the French hospital, 
which is in the same part of the town. In the first 
place, none of the men there are badly wounded, as the 
serious cases are taken to hospitals nearer the seat of 
war. This one has been open four days, contains 
already two thousand sick and wounded, and has only 
one fatal case so far. The French soldiers seemed in 
wonderful spirits, smoking and laughing, eating no end 
of oranges and drinking lemonade. Most of them 
had a neat little white bandage somewhere about their 
persons, and that was all. I asked a Zouave who had 
had a ball in his ankle if it hurt much ; he said not 
at first, " c'etait comme un bon coup de baton." He 
had hung up by his bed a white Austrian uniform 
which he had in fact plundered^ " pour avoir un petit 
souvenir," as he said. All these Zouaves had been 
at Palestro. They spoke of the King with much 



TURIN 103 

approval : " c'est un Zouave que votre Roi ! " One of 
them had a bomb, or perhaps it was a biscaien^ ex- 
ploded in his arm. He showed me his coat with some 
pride ; it had a great hole and the sleeve was all ripped 
up. He showed me his arm too, which was bandaged 
fortunately, and looked very neat, only rather red and 
swollen just above the spot. Some of the wounded 
from Magenta had already arrived. It must be said 
that you hardly hear a groan or a word of complaint 
amongst all these men ; every now and then one of them 
made a wry face on turning round, but that was all. 
One poor Zouave, a Protestant, had a shot through his 
nose which had carried off a piece just in the middle. 
He had a patch of white lint on the place, which, con- 
trasting with an exceedingly dark complexion, gave 
him the oddest possible appearance. In general they 
were very merry and civil, and when we left a 
room there was a general " Bonjour, monsieur et 
dame " which seemed so familiar. Finally I was 
dreadfully tired, and when I came home I can assure 
you the sight of the baby, so fresh in his white dress, 
looking so well, and with no wounds^ was positively 
delightful ! 

I am afraid it is rather longer than usual since I June 12. 
wrote, but there are violent thunderstorms every day, 
which make the air heavy, and one feels disinclined to 
write or do anything particular. The poor wounded 
soldiers complain of the stormy weather, which it seems 
they feel very much. I went again to the French 
hospital with Meille yesterday. Many of the men 
were engaged in writing letters, and no doubt many 
a queer account of Palestro and Magenta will find its 
way to remote corners of France. Yesterday evening 
Mme. de Stackelberg came to take me for a drive. 



104 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

C. had a bad headache and could not come. I went back 
with her to take tea. We first looked at the children 
in bed. They seem to me such giants compared with 
baby — the youngest is two years old. Then we made 
"charpie" and talked to the numerous circle of gentle- 
men who generally drop in there about tea-time. 
Rochegude, the new French Secretary, has just returned 
from the quartier general^ and has visited the battlefield 
of Magenta ; Pfuel and Kay ser ling of course, Chollet, 
old Robilant, Gerebsow, &c. As Stackelberg generally 
goes to bed early, the Comtesse is rather in want of 
some person of her own sex to be with her and all 
these men. The conversation was interesting. Roche- 
gude, I think, said that when passing through Aless- 
andria he heard a great noise, and on inquiring what 
it was, he was told " que c'etait les prisonniers Autri- 
chiens qui criaient ' Vive I'ltalie ! ' " It sounds absurd, 
but there are so many Italian regiments in the Austrian 
army that it is not really unnatural. You remember 
Mdlle. Dielitz, the music teacher, I hope } She has 
come out strong lately. On the first arrival of the 
wounded she was sent for to the hospital to translate 
for some of the prisoners, and made herself so useful 
that she was given a permission to visit all the 
hospitals, at all hours, and was thanked by Cavour. 
From her being able to speak Piedmontese and know- 
ing so many people here, she has been able to do 
more than anyone. Besides giving her music-lessons, 
she manages to go twice a day to the hospitals, 
carrying with her all sorts of little luxuries for 
the poor wounded, which she is allowed to take 
to them. She has found out five Austrian cadets, 
who, although belonging to good families and accus- 
tomed to very different treatment, are not counted 



TURIN 105 

as officers, and have to share the straw beds and coarse 
linen of the hospitals with the common soldiers. C. has 
sent her some shirts and handkerchiefs for them, as well 
as books, and is writing to Germany to try and get some 
money for them. One of the poor fellows has had his 
chin shot off and can neither eat nor speak. He was 
in the canal at Palestro, and swam under water for 
some time to avoid the bullets. He dragged himself 
out by means of an acacia tree, which has left the 
marks of its thorns all over his hands, and just as he 
got out was struck in the chin ! He lay there for 
eighteen hours before he was found, and yet has never 
had a day's fever ! The Croats and Slavs are said 
to be delighted ; they have never had such good 
soup or such good bread, and they eat as much as 
they can. 

We have iust returned from an expedition with the Turin, 

. June 24. 

Stackelbergs to Latour, which was very enjoyable. We 

were just five, the Count and Comtesse, Gerebsow, and 
we two. The weather was rather uncertain the first 
day at Latour, but we managed a small expedition to 
Luserna. We saw the garden of the chateau which 
belongs to the Marquis d'Angrogna, the King's aide- 
de-camp. It was very pretty, and Stackelberg recited 
verses of Lamartine. The night, however, was not 
pleasant ; storm succeeded storm, and you know what 
they are at Latour, just under the mountains ! Our 
rooms had been changed and our things had got mixed, 
which was very disagreeable. The key of our bag was 
missing, and as it had not been unpacked I made 
a pilgrimage along the open gallery, despite of light- 
ning and pouring rain, to ask for it. Stackelberg was, I 
think, already in bed ; however, he handed me a key 
through the door, which proved, alas ! to be a wrong 



io6 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

one. I had not the courage to return, and what 
with the storms and the want of several necessary 
articles, spent a very uncomfortable night. The next 
morning the weather cleared up by degrees, and we 
determined to set off for Bobbi, with, I think, all the 
horses in the village. The Comtesse and I had no 
habits, as we had not contemplated this cavalcade, and 
had to ride in our crinolines, which spread out almost 
to the horses' tails and must have looked peculiar. The 
weather, however, became glorious, the sky without 
a cloud, everything fresh from the rain of the night, 
the beauty of the road beyond description ; it really was 
enchanting. 

At Bobbi we rested and had a small repast by a 
spring under chestnut trees. The return was enlivened 
by Gerebsow's horse, who had already shown his 
kicking propensities, making a sudden pointe de gaieti 
and depositing his rider head-foremost at the feet of 
the Comtesse's horse. Happily he was not in the 
least hurt. We were to have returned to Turin that 
evening, but the weather being so fine, it was voted 
unanimously that we should stay till the next day. 
We spent a pleasant evening sitting on the balcony 
in the court of the " Ours," looking at the mountain 
outlines over the chimneys of Latour and listening to 
the Comtesse singing. We returned to Pignerol the 
next day and were nearly stifled by the heat in the train 
to Turin. The Stackelbergs begged we would finish 
the day with them, dining a la fortune du pot^ as 
nothing had been ordered ; so after seeing that baby was 
all right and in no wise diminished by our absence, we 
joined them again. It was rather an amusing contrast — 
the charming rooms, the refined cookery, everything so 
different. The Comtesse in pink muslin, not much 



TURIN 107 

more beautiful, however, than in the one plain gown 
she wore on the expedition. After dinner, being still 
very en train, we went up the Cappucini to see the 
mountains again from afar, then drove in the Place 
d'Armes and round the town till past nine. Then tea 
and the usual set of men all eager to see the Comtesse 
again and hear all about our excursion. How the 
Comtesse manages it all I don't understand. She looks 
thoroughly after her two children, who are certainly 
very well brought up, she sees after that great house- 
hold, pays a lot of necessary visits, finds time to read a 
little, play a little, to be always well dressed and always 
look beautiful. It is really a good deal to accomplish. 

C. and I did go to the Carmine hospital, but we June 27. 
came in for the arrival of a convoi de Messes, and of 
course all the authorities were occupied. Since then, 
however, C. has obtained permission to buy linen and 
articles of clothing for some of the prisoners with the 
money he has received from Germany. I had never 
seen the arrival of the wounded before. Some of them 
limped along cheerily enough with the help of the 
infirmiers, some were carried, others were borne in . 
litters ; these, of course, were the worst cases, and looked 
fearfully exhausted. Altogether the hospital is a 
melancholy sight ; the pale patient faces of the poor 
Austrian cadets who have been amputated always haunt 
me, and C, who had not been there before, could 
hardly get to sleep at night. The Austrian I told you 
about who had his chin shot off is getting all right, 
his chin healing and mending in a marvellous way. 

Last evening we went to the Arconati's, where we 
heard much talk about the last battle, although very 
little is known as yet. ^ One of the Marquise's numerous 
^ Solferino and San Martino, June 24th. 



io8 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

sisters was there from Milan. She told me the accounts 
of the Milanese ladies going in their carriages to pick 
up the wounded were a little exaggerated. All sent 
their carriages, and many of the men were received into 
private houses because the twenty-two hospitals were 
not sufficient for the mass of wounded. She told me 
that they arrived continually from Magenta for two 
days and two nights. The unfortunates who came last, 
when people began to be tired and sympathy to be 
exhausted, were much to be pitied. Four Austrian 
officers were in this case. They were sent to one 
or two houses that refused to take them in ; the people 
who carried them would not go any further, saying 
every place was full and that it was of no use. In 
vain they entreated and offered money. Happily the 
son of this lady, passing at the moment, heard the state 
of the case, and had them instantly carried to his own 
palace, where every care was taken of them. Still, 
it must have been a most bitter experience in the town 
of which they were the imperious lords and masters 
two days before. 

We are very warm here, as you may imagine ; indeed, 
as one of the Austrians in the hospital amused me 
by saying the other day, " Die Hitze in Turin ist 
merkwiirdig " (The heat in Turin is remarkable). 
I am still very busy with the wounded and generally 
go to two hospitals a day, which is rather fatiguing ; 
nevertheless, I must say that I never felt so well, during 
the hot season, as I do this year. The worst of going 
to the hospitals is the number of living creatures one 
brings back with one. Of course, I have to change 
entirely before having any intercourse with my house- 
hold, and I generally have a basin of water at hand 
into which I throw as many " F sharps " as I can find. 



TURIN 



109 



The other day I began counting them by curiosity, but 
gave it up when I got past forty. Being livree aux betes 
in this way is unpleasant, certainly, otherwise I am 
getting quite attached to my poor Austrians, and feel 
as if something was wanting if I have not seen them in 
the course of the day. I have had a visit from the 
Marquis and Marquise Roberto d'Azeglio, who, I 
think I told you, have organised the visiting of the 
wounded by the Italian ladies. They wanted me to 
join their association, but it could not be managed. 
The money we have received from Germany being 
destined entirely for the Austrian prisoners, it is 
already difficult to get at them without arousing 
jealousy amongst the other wounded, although in general 
they are all veTy well disposed towards each other (I 
have even been asked by a Piedmontese to give some- 
thing I was offering him to some neighbour, who, 
povero diavolo (poor devil), was a prisoner). The 
Dielitz has happily had ample funds sent her by her 
friends the Schicklers, in Paris, without any restriction 
as to use, so that we can manage to give to all parties 
and get on very well, but it would not do for me 
to belong to any exclusively Italian Society. The 
d'Azeglios understood this and were very kind about 
it. They have given me permission to visit all the 
hospitals, so that I am now an authorised person, which 
is a great boon. The Marquis Roberto d'Azeglio has 
a wonderful red wig and looks rather old-fashioned, but 
he has charming old-school manners and is liberal and 
philanthropical. Although a fervent Catholic himself, 
he was most helpful to the poor Vaudois at the time of 
the Statuto, seeing that their religious liberty was 
ensured. He and his wife teach the poor children 
in the schools here, and do an immense amount of 



no IN THREE LEGATIONS 

good. The Dielitz and I go now regularly in the 
evening to the Carmine hospital. We proceed from 
room to room, followed by waiters from a neighbouring 
cafe, bearing trays of iced lemonade and other drinks 
in glasses, of which we distribute more than a hundred 
certainly every evening. After a long hot day in those 
crowded rooms, the refreshment of such a drink is 
wonderful ; some of the poor fellows look quite 
different after it. The other evening a priest who 
saw us arrive said kindly, " Ecco le signore che danno 
da here agli assettati " (Here are the ladies who give 
drink to the thirsty). It certainly is a privilege, which 
I have felt much, to be able to follow literally the 
Gospel injunctions, to give drink to the thirsty, and to 
visit the sick and the prisoners. I came across an 
affecting scene the other day ; a poor fellow was 
receiving Extreme Unction. Of course, such things 
must be of daily occurrence in the hospitals, but as it 
happened I had never seen it before. There was a 
hush in the room for the soul that was passing. The 
lighted tapers in the deepening twilight brought out the 
group round the bed, the wasted figure upon it, the 
priest bending over him, and the cross held aloft. It 
was very impressive and very sad. 

The Italians are bitterly disappointed at the armistice 
and sudden peace of Villafranca, which has put an end 
to so many high hopes. " Free from the Alps to the 
Adriatic," said the Emperor Napoleon's own proclama- 
tion, and now poor Venice is left under the domination 
of Austria, just when she had gone half mad with joy 
at the sight of the masts of the French and Italian 
fleets from the campanile of San Marco. It is heart- 
rending to think of, and people are murmuring fiercely 
at what they consider a breach of promise. It all came 



TURIN III 

so suddenly ; the battle of Solferino, fought about a 
month ago (June 14), is said to have been the bloodiest 
of modern times ; it lasted from early morning till 
evening, and the losses on both sides were tremendous. 
The Italians took and retook San Martino five times 
before they could drive the Austrians out of it. The 
fearful carnage is said to have affected the Emperor 
so dreadfully that he hurried on the armistice without 
consulting his allies. Soon after, he met the Emperor 
of Austria at Villafranca, and the preliminaries of peace 
were settled at Verona. Cavour, who had had a long 
interview with Napoleon two days after the battle, was 
quite unaware of his intentions, and returned to Milan 
in great spirits. On July 8th he started again for the 
camp, and heard by accident, at Desenzano, that peace 
was declared. When he met the King afterwards, it is 
said, there was a most violent scene, and he resigned 
all his ministries — he was at the head of four ! Now 
he has gone to Switzerland, to his relations there, quite 
in despair at the wreck of his hopes. Victor Emanuel 
signed the armistice, adding the words *' pour ce qui 
me concerne," still, it is said, by Cavour's advice. It 
is very clever, for he accepts Lombardy, and does not 
bind himself to anything else. The return of the 
Grand Dukes of Tuscany and Modena to their respec- 
tive duchies is anything but popular, and it is quite 
difHcult to believe that the news of peace can be re- 
ceived with such feelings of anger and disappointment. 
As you may imagine, there are no signs of rejoicing 
anywhere. 

I went, with several other ladies, to La Marmora's 
new house near the Novara station to see the Emperor 
and the King make their entry here. The reception 
was cold : there was no applause from the people in the 



112 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

streets, and they were allowed to pass almost in silence. 
As they drove by the King showed the house to the 
Emperor ; the latter looked up, and seeing ladies on 
the balcony all waving their handkerchiefs, lifted his 
kepi. The Emperor is much changed since I last saw 
him ; I don't think I should have known him again. 
He looked ill, but impassible as usual. The King 
looked very fierce ; but that he always does. All the 
aides-de-camp, Robilant and the others, are burnt black 
and brown after the campaign. 

C. spoke to the Chief yesterday, who said at once 
that in Kayserling's absence any real leave would be 
impossible, but that perhaps C. might go backwards 
and forwards to Pesio. Meantime, this is the second 
day of rain here, so that for the present the weather is 
cooler, and one does not feel such an ardent desire to 
get out of Turin. We still visit the wounded, and at 
the Carmine, where we go every day, things go on satis- 
factorily enough ; but the other hospitals are discourag- 
ing. Going there only occasionally, one just sees a 
mass of misery quite beyond one's reach. We have 
plenty of money, between what came from Germany 
and Mme. Schickler's gift, but the pity is we can trust 
no one to spend it but ourselves. We have been 
warned that the Sisters have favourites, and make an 
unfair division. The surgeons, at least all those that 
I have seen, are real barbarians — executioners {Schar- 
frichter)^ Weber, our Legation doctor, calls them. 
In short, there is no one to help, and what with the 
confusion of languages, Piedmontese, Slovaks, Hun- 
garians, Croats, &c., all clamouring for all kinds of 
things, jealous of each other moreover, I can assure 
you that one gets quite confused sometimes. At the 
Carmine, as I said before we know our people, and 



TURIN 113 

therefore get on better, although our " service " there 
in the evenings is comphcated enough. Some are to 
have wine, others broth, some chicken, some a little 
meat, some will only dnnk gazeuse or beer; this besides 
giving lemonade all round, and remembering the 
numerous applications for shirts, drawers, stockings, 
shoes, coats, books, in short every imaginable article ! 
Adieu, I must close, for a funny little woman is waiting 
to take me to the hospital of St. Isidoro, which I do 
not yet know. 



CHAPTER V 

Visit to Certosa di Pesio — Journey to Florence and Perugia — 
Brassier's return — My husband made Legations-Rath — Dinner 
at Coellos' — C. prepares memoir for Cavour — Visit Naples, 
Rome — Bonn — Death of our child. 

WE were able to join my parents at the Certosa di 
Pesio, an old Carthusian monastery in the 
Apennines, which had been made into a summer resort. 
Later on we accompanied my husband, who was sent 
to Florence en courier with important despatches. 
We were almost the only travellers moving about so 
soon after the war, and the journey was most interesting. 
We arrived at Florence just at the time when the 
annexation of Tuscany to Piedmont was being voted, 
and were much struck by the order and dignity of the 
proceedings. We then went on to Perugia, where an 
uncle of mine, M. Evelyn Waddington, had long been 
established. The whole town was still thrilling with 
the horrors of its recapture by the Papal troops two 
months before, and the accounts of murder and pillage 
heard on all sides seemed to take one straight back 
to the Middle Ages. It was difficult to imagine that 
such scenes had happened quite recently. My husband 
took notes of all that he heard and saw, which proved 
very useful afterwards on our return to Turin. 

Turin, At the Sclopis's the other evening we met a new 

arrival, a Mme. Peruzzi, from Florence, who told me 

114 



TURIN 115 

she had seen W. quite lately in Paris. She had just 
crossed the Mont Cenis, and had been nearly forty- 
eight hours on the way on account of the inundations. 
She had, however, not rested since, had received and 
read thirteen letters on her arrival, and come straight 
to the Sclopis's, where she was giving a most animated 
account of her journey in such beautiful Italian that it 
was a delight to listen to her. 

Yesterday I went to see the Comtesse Stackelberg, who 
has just lost a brother from consumption. She herself 
has not been at all well and looked very pale in her deep 
mourning. I 

By the way, our new attache, M. de Krause, has 
arrived. He is young and tall, with a fresh, honest 
look about him, and seems to promise well as a 
colleague. I must say for our Legation that as a body 
it is about the best-looking here. 

The Chief returned yesterday, and C. has relapsed 
into obscurity again. At present he is delighted at 
being able to read his papers quietly, without thinking 
of despatches or having to rush out in this wet weather 
to hunt for news. Brassier has brought him his 
nomination as " Legations-Rath " (Councillor of Lega- 
tion), which is merely a title, I believe. C. does not 
seem particularly excited about it, as it is a step that 
must come sooner or later. It is, however, the first 
thing he has got since we have been married, and there 
is a great diploma signed by the Prince of Prussia hochst 
selhst. It is always a proof that they are pleased 
with him as charge d'affaires. Brassier dined several 
times at the Prince Regent's while he was away, and it 
seems C.'s telegraphic despatches about the state of 

^ The beautiful and gifted Comtesse Stackelberg died at Nice 
in the following spring. 



ii6 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

affairs here were one of the great subjects of interest. 
I do not think Brassier can have enjoyed his stay in 
Berhn very much. People there are so opposed to the 
whole Italian movement and to anything coming from 
Turin at present. One man came up to him at Court 
and asked, " Wie geht es dem Rauber Hauptmann 
Victor Emanuel ? " (How is the robber chief, Victor 
Emanuel, getting on ?). Now, it is not pleasant to 
hear the sovereign to whom you are accredited desig- 
nated as a robber chief ! And then it is not true ! 
You who have seen it in Tuscany know that there is 
no coercion or deception in the case, but that the 
people vote eagerly and unanimously for their annexa- 
tion to Piedmont and wish to come under the rule 
of the " Re leale," the only ruler in Italy who has been 
loyal to his word. 

The populations of the Emilia (as they now call 
Parma and Modena) and of the Romagne are tired or 
broken promises and bad government. They agree 
with Farini, who refused to leave Modena and declared 
that Italy had not countersigned the peace of Villa- 
franca. They have taken things into their own hands 
and refuse to be neatly arranged in confederations under 
their former Princes and Cardinal Legates by the Con- 
gress of Zurich. C. is preparing a memoir on the 
sack of Perugia from the notes he took on the spot last 
summer ; he also wrote very plainly about things here 
when he was charge d'affaires. Indeed, he told me 
once or twice he had sent off a despatch which might 
cost him his post, it was so contrary to what they 
would like to hear in Berlin. The despatches have not 
cost him his post, happily, but brought him promotion, 
so that one may hope things are not quite so bad as 
they seem. 



TURIN 117 

I went to the Coello dinner in my new pensee dress, 
with the wonderful coiffure which is just like a diadem. 
The Coellos, who are the new Spaniards, have a splendid 
apartment in one of the old palaces in Dora Grossa, 
and everything is very well got up. Mme. Ccello was 
most elegante^ although I was the only other lady. She 
speaks very little French ; she pointed to my gown : 
" Joli, Paris." I said, " Paris." " Mme. Roger .? " to 
which I replied, " Non, trop cher," and so on. Every- 
body complimented on C.'s new title and addressed me 
as '* Frau Legations-rathin." I must add that Gerebsow 
told me he had met baby and heard he was getting a 
third tooth ! As he is supposed to dislike children 
particularly I was astonished, but he explained that he 
liked children when they were not only pretty, but 
" bien tenus, quand ils ont quelque chose de comme il 
faut et de distingue." You may imagine that my 
maternal feelings were flattered ! Tchitcherine also 
told me at the dinner " qu'il avait rencontre M. de 
Bunsen jeune, avec un manteau neuf." 

There is a new Neapolitan here who speaks very 
funny French and is a great amusement to all his 
colleagues. He was talking the other day of some- 
thing he had wanted to do, but had not succeeded in. 
" Je I'aurais bien voulou mais je n'ai pas poppou " 
(avrei ben voluto, ma non I'ho potuto)." You may 
imagine the delight of the whole club ; they all go in 
turn to get him to repeat it, saying sympathetically, 
" Oh, si vous ne I'avez pas poppou, je comprends," &c. 

I paid a visit with C. to the English chaplain here, 
Mr. Loftus Tottenham, who has a wife and a numerous 
family. They seem to be quite nice people. 

C.'s nomination as Conseiller de Legation has been 
in all the papers here with favourable comments. It 



ii8 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

seems to have made a great stir, for every creature 
congratulates. F. saw it at Siena in the Monitore 
Toscano and wrote immediately. Kayserling sent a 
most affectionate letter from Konigsberg, Uebel wrote 
from Copenhagen, &c. 

Here is the mention of C.'s promotion in a German 
paper. " The nomination of the young Herr von 
Bunsen to Legations- Rath in the Prussian Legation here 
has made a very good impression. Herr von Bunsen 
has known how to win for himself the respect of the 
Italians." As C. did 7iot write this himself and really 
does not know who has written it, it is pleasing. 

The other day C. had a note from Sir James Hudson 
to say that Cavour wished to see him and hear some 
details about the storming of Perugia. He went, of 
course, and after spending an hour with Cavour pro- 
mised to write out some of the facts for him. Happily 
he still has the notes he took on the spot. 

I have not been able to write lately, C. and I have 
both been so busy with his memoir for Cavour. We 
made two copies, and as it was an affair of fifty pages 
it was not easy to manage with all the interruptions. 
I wrote when C. was out and dictated to him as soon 
as he came in. The great object was to get the copy 
for Cavour finished before the Court ball, where C. 
would be sure to meet him. This was accomplished, 
and at the ball Cavour came up to C. and thanked him 
— " J'ai re^u ce que vous m'avez envoye et je vous 
en remercie beaucoup." I hope you can imagine the 
effect of this mysterious speech on the bystanders ! 
Cavour has just returned to power, but has not formed 
his new Ministry yet. 

The next day came a letter from Cavour regretting 
that the memoir was not intended for publicity and 



TURIN 119 

asking C.'s permission to submit it quite privately to 
the Emperor Napoleon, giving him the name of the 
author confidentially. " Le caractere de haute impar- 
tialite qui caracterise ce remarquable travail m'aiderait 
puissamment a convaincre I'Emp. Napoleon de la 
necessite de laisser a la logique des faits son cours 
inexorable." 

I have long wished for an autograph of Cavour's, 
and now I have got one really worth keeping in the 
family archives ! C. had promised Sir James Hudson 
to show him the paper also and took him the copy I 
had written. Hudson was sending a messenger to 
London next day, and wanted to send the memoir to 
Lord John Russell. There was no time to make 
another copy, so mine has been sent, but Hudson 
promises to have it back again, as we have none left. 
C.'s hope of being of use to the unfortunate sufferers 
in the Papal States has been fulfilled quite beyond 
expectation, and the truth will have been laid before 
those who have power to act upon it. It really gives 
one a feeling of heartfelt satisfaction. 

I must try and write before I go out with the Jan. 27. 
Tottenhams on this beautiful morning. I often walk 
with them now, and when we have been right round 
the Place d'Armes at a great pace I feel better in body 
and mind. I am really very busy with the prospect of 
soon starting for Cannes and perhaps Rome and Naples. 
So far it had seemed quite a visionary scheme, but now 
I am beginning " to feel it in my bones," like Candace 
in Mrs. Beecher-Stowe's last book. 

The Chief will not hear of our starting till he is sure 
of Pfuel's return ; unfortunately his somnamhule has 
assured him that Pfuel will not come back till March, 
so that he is more cautious than ever. 



120 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

We did get off, however, and went to both Naples 
and Rome, leaving our child at Cannes with his 
Bunsen grandparents, who were devoted to him. Soon 
after our return to Turin, in June, when all Italy was 
absorbed in following Garibaldi and his mille in their 
expedition to Sicily, illness entered our house. My 
husband and Wilhelm took the measles from a servant 
and were seriously ill. The fear of contagion kept all 
away, and I should have been utterly alone at that 
terrible time had it not been for our friends the 
Tottenhams, who came every day, regardless of their 
numerous children. My husband recovered after a 
long and tedious illness. Our beautiful, most promis- 
ing child passed away on June 25, i860, and life was 
never quite the same afterwards. His memory will 
always remain associated in my mind with the stainless 
lilies which surrounded him as he lay in his last 
sleep. 

In the autumn or that year we went to Bonn 
to be near my father-in-law, whose health had been 
failing for some time, and remained there till his death 
on November 28, i860. We had both much dreaded 
going back to Turin, but my father-in-law, who had 
always been deeply interested in the Italian cause, and 
who followed to the very last the important events 
that were taking place in the Peninsula, repeatedly 
expressed his desire that my husband should not apply 
for another post, but return to one which was every 
day becoming a greater centre of interest. 

Thus it was that in December, i860, we found 
ourselves once more in the well-known capital of 
Piedmont. 



CHAPTER VI 

Return to Turin — Union of kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Umbria, 
and the Marches to dominions of Victor Emanuel — Garibaldi 
enters Naples — His meeting with the King — We take an 
apartment — Piazzi Bodoni — Sale of Prince G.'s curios — Death 
of King of Prussia — Opening of first Italian Parliament — 
Dinner at Cavour's — ;Go to the Reggio — Debate in the 
Chambers — The races — Illness and death of Cavour. 

MANY and wonderful events had taken place in 
Italy during the six months we had been away. 
The kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the provinces or 
Umbria and the Marches had been added by a plebe- 
scite to the rapidly increasing dominions of Victor 
Emanuel. Already, before our departure, Garibaldi 
had embarked on May 6, i860, with his mille^ on 
his adventurous and romantic expedition to Sicily, 
In vain the young King of Naples, realising at last 
the dangers of his position, promised a constitution 
to his people and declared himself ready to enter into 
the long-rejected alliance with Piedmont. It was too 
late. Garibaldi had conquered Sicily to the cry of 
" Italy and Victor Emanuel ! " He was now at the 
head of some twenty thousand men, and determined, 
despite of protestations from both friends and foes, to 
cross the Straits of Messina and effect a landing in 
Calabria. On August 21st he entered Reggio, the 
garrison capitulating. On September 6th, Francis II. 



122 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

abandoned his capital and sailed for the fortress of 
Gaeta. The next day, September 7th, Garibaldi entered 
Naples in an open carriage, receiving a welcome such 
as has seldom been accorded to mortal man. Ex- 
hausted at last, after hours of speaking and showing 
himself to the people, he invented the sign which 
became so popular — holding up the first finger of 
the right hand alone, which meant Italia una ! The 
quick-witted Neapolitans were enchanted with this 
concise expression of the great aim of the moment, 
and adopted it at once. 

Meanwhile events progressed in other parts of the 
country also. Our poor friends at Perugia had been 
released from their Papal garrison by the Italian troops, 
under General Fanti. On the other side of the 
Apennines, in the Marches, General Lamoriciere, a 
Frenchman in command of a force raised from all 
parts of Europe in defence of the temporal power of 
the Pope, was defeated at Castelfidardo by the Italian 
General, Cialdini, and forced to surrender at Ancona. 

On October 2, i860, Cavour asked the Parlia- 
ment for full powers to annex all these new pro- 
vinces of Central and Southern Italy if they desired 
it. A vote of 290 against 6 approved the policy of 
the Government. 

Victor Emanuel now put himself at the head of his 
army and crossed the Neapolitan frontier. Capua 
capitulated, and the King of Naples shut himself into 
the fortress of Gaeta, where he was still besieged. On 
October 26th, Victor Emanuel and Garibaldi met 
at the head of their respective forces. There are, 
of course, many accounts of this remarkable interview ; 
this is the one I prefer, and which I heard from a 
person usually exceptionally well informed : — 



TURIN 123 

When they came in sight, the King and Garibaldi 
both rode on alone. As he approached the King, 
Garibaldi saluted, and said simply, " Re d' Italia " (King 
of Italy). The King held out his hand : " Vi ringrazio ! " 
(I thank you !) Thus was the crown of the Two 
Sicilies laid at Vittorio's feet ! 

On November 7th, the King entered Naples with 
Garibaldi at his side, and after that the legendary 
hero departed to his barren island home at Caprera, 
refusing titles, honours, riches, everything that would 
have been showered on him, and taking with him only 
the deep satisfaction of having done more to help and 
liberate his country than often falls to the lot of 
mortals. 

When we returned to Turin in December, i860, the 
King of Naples was still besieged by the Italian forces 
in Gaeta, where he and his Queen, a Bavarian Princess, 
were making a spirited defence. 

Victor Emanuel was in Sicily showing himself to his 
new subjects ; Garibaldi quietly settled in obscurity at 
Caprera, giving an example of the purest and most 
unselfish patriotism which the world, perhaps, had ever 
seen ; and in the whole country twenty-two million 
Italians, united under the Government of the Re Galan- 
tuomo^ were preparing for the election of the first 
Italian Parliament, which was to meet in February. 
As Prussia had joined with Austria and Russia in 
protesting against the late events, and the annexation 
of the Two Sicilies, Umbria and the Marches, to the 
new kingdom of Italy, the position of our Legation 
was at this time rather a difficult one. 

And now we are at Turin once more ! On the 
whole it is strangely familiar and comfortable ; of 



124 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

course, painful recollections will come often, but where 
did they not follow us ? It was hard to pass our old 
house in coming from the station to-day, but I was 
glad to have it over at once, and so thankful that 
we have not to live there again ! We have not 
heard of an apartment yet, but are very comfortable 
here in the Hotel Feder. There seems much talk of 
the Court moving from Turin to one of the many 
great towns now at its disposal, but where, does not 
clearly appear. 

To-day being Sunday, I have given myself a rest 
from lodging-hunting, and have much enjoyed a little 
quiet this morning. We went about for a whole day 
seeing one set of rooms after another, each of them 
dirtier, more dismal, and gloomier than the last. 
Finally, that evening I overturned the lamp (acci- 
dentally), breaking the glass globe and throwing the 
hot oil over the table-cover and a quantity of poor 
C.'s papers ! As you may imagine, I went to bed 
in no very complacent mood. 

Do not be anxious about me here, for I am very 
glad indeed to be back again. The people are very 
kind ; they all know our history, they had all seen and 
admired our darling, and I have no need to explain 
what a treasure we have lost. Of course, there is 
a painful thrill now and then, and seeing Meille again 
was rather bad. 

Here at Feder's we have a splendid room, with a 
large alcove, in which is the bed of the beautiful 
Countess Castiglione ! It was sold, it seems, at her 
sale, and the hotel bought it. It is really a gorgeous 
affair, " style Louis XV.," all white and gold, with 
curtains and draperies of silk. It is the admiration of all 
our visitors, and when Brassier came he asked to see it. 



TURIN 125 

We are no longer at the hotel, I am thankful to say, Piazza 

1 7 • 7 ^ 1 J Bodoni, 

but housed at last tant Men que mal. Our new abode Dec. 21. 
is very near the Legation, and is not built on the 
barrack system, with the many stairs and sets of apart- 
ments, but is clean and quiet, and seems to contain only 
a few families. From our windows we have a fine 
view of the summits of the whole chain of Alps above 
the roofs of the opposite houses, and from the back we 
see the colline. We were glad to move in at once 
yesterday, after getting together the most necessary 
articles of furniture, and were delighted to sleep in 
beds of our own. This, however, I am sorry to say, 
was not such a pleasure as we had expected, for it was 
terribly cold, as we had a fall of snow for our installa- 
tion. All our new things look nice and clean, and I 
hope when we have unpacked our own belongings we 
shall be quite comfortable. We happen to have come 
in for Prince G.'s sale, as they left Turin some time 
ago. It made me feel quite sad to see the furniture 
I knew so well in the hands of the dirty Jews. C. 
wants to get a big inlaid cigar-box, for which he re- 
members seeing the Prince collect enamels, old watches, 
snuff-boxes, &c. It was finally made up in Paris, and 
is a very handsome thing. It would be a remembrance 
of past and pleasant days when we saw so much of 
the G.'s. 

I am writing in C.'s study, which is really quite 
warm, an unusual thing in a Turin room in winter. 
It is small, but comfortable and cosy, and we are 
getting quite to like our new home. We are having 
regular Christmas weather, very cold, and snow lying 
everywhere. Indeed, we find it colder than at Bonn, 
and miss the German stoves, which certainly give 
splendid heat. 



126 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

We are much pleased with Edmond de Pressense*s 
article on my father-in-law. C. saw him in Paris and 
furnished him with most of his materials, which he has 
made a very good use of, giving just enough from the 
notes made at the time. 

I wish I could impart to you the sense of pleasure 
and comfort with which I sit down to write to you at 
my own table, in our new drawing-room. I never 
felt half so much at home in our old apartment as I 
do here, where we have chosen and arranged every 
article that surrounds us. As you know, I have always 
been devoted to bric-a-brac since the early times when I 
bought the Henri IV. chairs from the Chateau de 
Martinville with my pocket-money, and sat on the 
floor to look at them ! C. has come round a good 
deal to old furniture since we have seen so much in 
the shops here, and I must allow that we have been 
launching out somewhat beyond the strict necessaire. 
A pair of very handsome Gobelins portieres^ some good 
carved frames, besides the big cigar-box, are not 
perhaps quite the first articles you would get to put 
into perfectly empty rooms, but they give character 
to the whole place, and are a continual delight to 
one's eye. 

You will have seen that our poor King is dead.^ 
As we are already in deep mourning, it will make no 
change for us in that respect. We shall only have to 
put the servants into black. 

Wonderful to relate, we have had a new arrival 
in the Corps diplomatique, a married Belgian, M. 
Bartholeyns de Fosslaert, with his wife and children. 

^ Frederick William IV. of Prussia. In 1858 his mind had 
given way, and his brother, afterward the Emperor William I., 
assumed the Regency. 



TURIN 



127 



She is English, and came to call with empressement^ so 
I must try and go there soon. They have been at 
Rome, and Mme. de Gramont has recommended us 
strongly to each other. I went to the Lima's the 
other day early, and heard about the Court ball. 
None of our Legation went, of course, on account 
of the mourning ; indeed, Brassier was annoyed 
the ball itself was not put off, like the one at the 
Tuileries. 

Our new attache^ Herr v. S., is in despair, and wearies 
C. with his lamentations at not being able to go out in 
society. He wants to be " lancirt " as he expresses 
it. "Sie haben trauer, Pfuel hat mich da plantirt^' 
(You are in mourning — Pfuel m'a plante la). Of 
course, Brassier does not trouble himself about him, and 
comiplains rather on his side to C. that S., who is very 
reactionary, talks " dummes Zeug " (stupid stuff) at the 
club ! S. also brings sandwiches to the Chancellerie 
for his lunch ! — a new departure, which is not 
approved of. In short, Krause and Kayserling con- 
tinue to be regretted. 

I have just been to see Mme. d'Arvillars. She 
never goes out in the winter, but had sent me cards and 
polite messages. She really was very kind, and told 
me that though she quite understood it must be a 
great effort to begin visiting again, yet she thought it 
would be good for me to see friends, people who took 
an interest in me, and so on. Mme. d'Arvillars' 
other daughter, the Comtesse C, came in with her 
daughter, who is the rising beauty of Turin. She is 
very handsome, dhout fifteen^ according to her relations, 
fully eighteen^ according to a malicious public, that 
accuses her mamma of wishing to keep her in the 
background as long as possible. 



128 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

On the day when the news of the fall of Gaeta ^ 
came the weather was splendid. From our elevated 
position we could see the white smoke of the guns 
firing from the Cappucini in honour of the event. 
The whole town was astir, and one really seemed to 
feel something in the air. Sometimes I quite rejoice 
at being here again in the midst of so much that is 
interesting and important. And then the Piedmontese 
are so full of enthusiasm and public spirit ! 

We do not yet know it Brassier — and his Legation 
— will be allowed to be present to-morrow at the 
opening of the first Italian Parliament or not. As I 
have ordered a new bonnet for the occasion, you may 
imagine how disgusted I shall be it we don't go ! 
General von Bonin arrived here from Berlin on 
Friday, and C. packed him and his people off post 
haste to Milan, to join Brassier there, and be still in 
time to compliment the King by his old title of King 
of Sardinia ! S. bothered Brassier so much that at 
last he consented to take him to Milan, and also to 
get his journey paid, for he by no means wished to go 
at his own expense. S. was so pleased at his success 
that he embraced C, which he is in the habit of doing 
in moments of great emotion. After having got his 
Prussians off on Friday, C. had just time to come 
back here and lie down with a dreadful headache. I 
am afraid sometimes that Turin really does not agree 
with him, which is a great drawback. It makes me 
sympathise with the cry of the Bolognese — *' Vittorio 
Emanuele al Campidoglio ! " for that would mean our 
all going to Rome, but it would be too much happiness ! 

^ In February, 1861, Gaeta surrendered to the Italian forces, 
after being defended with great determination by Francis II. of 
Naples and his Queen. 



TURIN 129 

Pfuel arrives to-morrow morning. Uncle E. is not 
named to the Italian Chamber, which is a horrid bore. 
Seeing the name of Waddington on the list, we thought 
it was all right, but found out we were mistaken after- 
wards. I am quite disappointed at not having him 
here. 

C. is dining at Cavour's with the Legation and the T"^^"' 
. . Feb. 19. 

*' Mission extraordinaire." You must know that we, 
that is to say the Prussians, are quite on the top of the 
wave at present, what with Vincke's speech and General 
von Bonin's mission. Yesterday, at the opening of 
the Parliament, everybody said " que tous les honneurs 
de la seance avaient ete pour la Prusse." We did go 
finally, but were in uncertainty up to the last moment. 
The Chief only returned from Milan late the night 
before. S. was lost. Pfuel arrived from Berlin early 
yesterday morning. Finally S. turned up after the 
most wonderful adventures and losing twenty-two 
napoleons at the Hotel de la Ville at Milan ! Then 
there was still much rushing about, as the Chief had 
mistaken the hour and told Bonin to come too soon, 
but we did at last get off from the Legation, three 
carriages full. The building which has been erected, 
for the first Italian Parliament is merely temporary, 
and though the general effect is pretty enough, is 
rather in the style of a circus or amphitheatre. On one 
side of the throne is the loge for the Princes, on 
the other the one for the Corps diplomatique. The 
King was received with immense enthusiasm on his 
entrance ; all rose to their feet, and the applause was 
long and loud. He is now Vittorio Emanuele 11, , by 
the grace of God and the will of the nation King 
of Italy. It is certainly a magnificent result, which 
could scarcely have been dreamt of two years ago. 

10 



130 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

All Italy united except Rome and poor Venice ! The 
King's speech was received with bursts of applause, 
and the whole scene was splendid and thrilling with 
emotion. Meantime the Prussians made a grand 
show, I can assure you. Brassier first, with his grand 
cordon of the Italian Order of St. Maurice et Lazare, 
which he only got the evening before. (He had not 
even time to buy the ribbon, and Cavour gave him his 
own.) Then General von Bonin with his broad 
green ribbon, also received the night before. The 
two other officers, tall, fine-looking men, in their 
splendid uniforms. You may imagine that they were 
the centre of attraction, and the mere fact of their 
being so conspicuous on such an occasion was of im- 
portance as a symptom of better feelings on the part 
of Prussia towards the new kingdom of Italy, even 
though some unkind remarks might be whispered about 
ouvriers de la derniere heure. The King made an 
allusion to Prussia in his speech which was received 
with immense applause, everybody looking towards 
the brilliant group in the tribune diplomatique ; in 
short, nothing could be more satisfactory. All the 
colleagues were nowhere. Sir James Hudson looked 
well, as he always does, but he was quite unsupported. 
Lord de Burgh came in an old uniform and kept on a 
grey waterproof over it all the time. Lord Delaware, 
who came with Hudson, was also in a grey waterproof. 
Amongst other interests I had that of seeing C. in his 
new uniform of " Conseiller de Legation," and think- 
ing a part moi how well he looked in it. He is now 
much more embroidered than Pfuel and S., which is 
of course quite proper. As a show I was rather 
disappointed ; the deputies, a mass of men in black, 
most of them dark and ugly, were not imposing 



TURIN 



131 



and I was vexed to think Uncle E. was not amongst 
them. 

The dinner at Cavour's yesterday was not very 
exciting, it seems. C. sat by the Marquis Pepoli, who 
is from Bologna. Peruzzi was there, as he is in the new 
Ministry for the Travaux Publics. The ice-cream 
was surmounted by a dove, to which Cavour called the 
attention of his guests. " M. le Comte Brassier, M. le 
General, voyez-vous la colombe de la paix ? " General 
Menabrea was there, looking very ill, just returned 
from the siege of Gaeta. Bonin excused himself to C. 
for not having paid us a visit, and turning to S., who 
was listening, " Nicht Sie, lieber Freund, nicht Sie, dazu 
sind Sie noch viel zu jung ! " (Not you, dear friend, I 
don't mean you, for that you are far too young.) The 
whole Mission had themselves presented to me after the 
ceremony at the Chambers, and the two officers called 
yesterday in full style. By degrees now I have 
seen nearly all the people here again, and I must say 
they are extremely kind. 

There has been a revolution in the Chancellerie, 
at which I am delighted ! The gentlemen have 
declared en masse that they will work at the Prussian 
affairs first, and after that at the Austrian affairs till 
two o'clock, and then go away ! This is the result of 
Pfuel's having brought back a report that the Austrian 
decorations, which have always been held out as a 
distant encouragement and reward, are as far off as 
ever ! The Austrian Government is well pleased at 
having all its work done for nothing, and does not 
show the least intention of changing the arrangements 
here. The Chief was a good deal discomfited by this 
change, but they intend to keep to it. 

The other day I had quite a series of small adven- 



132 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

tures in search of Mme. Peruzzi,i on whom I wished to 
call. She is an official person now, and some one told 
me she lived at the Ministere des Travaux publics, so 
there I went. I was asked if I wanted the Strade Ferrate 
(railways) or the Telegraphe. I mentioned the name 
of Peruzzi. " Ah ! il Signor Ministro," and I was 
directed to the end of a long passage and up a stair- 
case. There was no porter or anyone about, and I 
thought it a wild sort of place for a lady to live in. 
At last I got into a kind of antechamber full of people, 
who were very civil, and it was with difficulty I escaped 
being taken straight in to Peruzzi himself. Finally I 
made them understand it was the signora I wanted, 
and they gave me her address. I trotted off a long way 
and found her just going out, as I had lost much time 
in my fruitless researches at the Ministere. The 
d'Aglie came to see me lately, and was extremely com- 
plimentary about our furniture. " Mais dites moi, 
tout ceci est a vous, n'est-ce pas ? Aussi je pensais, 
tant de bon gout dans un logement meuble c'est 
impossible ! " C. and I are always fres sensibles to 
anything that is said about our furniture. Mme. de 
Lima has just been here, also charmed with the 
apartment, and certainly on a sunny morning it looks 
its best. 

I have been wonderfully dissipated since I last wrote. 
C. came home suddenly one evening with a proposal to 
go to the Reggio, where there are some very good singers 

' The Peruzzis belong to one of the oldest Florentine families. 
They are mentioned by Dante in the Paradiso as " quei della Pera " 
(those of the Pear), an allusion to their well-known armorial bear- 
ings of three pears, still to be seen on many of their old houses in 
the Santa Croce quarter of Florence. The Peruzzis were made 
bankrupts in 1339 by the refusal of King Edward of England to 
repay the enormous sums they had advanced to him. 



TURIN 133 

just now. We made up our minds at once, and I sent 
to ask one of the little Tottenhams to go with us. She 
was delighted, and the whole thing was most successful. 
It was a beneficienza for the wounded ; all the best 
people sang their best pieces. There was a cantata 
with a refrain de cir Constance — 



"Viva Vittorio il grande, 
Viva d'ltalia il Re." 



and great cheering and enthusiasm ! 

The next day came a note from the Peruzzi, kind 
and to the point. " Je viens vous chercher a huit 
heures pour aller au Reggio ! " The servant did not 
even wait for an answer. She had told C. she wanted 
to take me some evening, but I did not think it would 
come so soon. I amused myself very well, and told 
" Ubaldino " (nearly everybody calls M. Peruzzi so) 
how near I had been paying him a visit the other day. 
Of course he said, as in duty bound, he would have been 
charmed. The box was soon filled, and the conversa- 
tion went on in the most beautiful Italian. Peruzzi 
says that W. owes him a letter since last autumn. 

We went one evening to the Sclopis's, for the first 
time since our return here, I am ashamed to say. We 
found a most formidable circle assembled, for sixty 
new Senators have been named since the annexation of 
the two Sicilies and Umbria, &c., and there were 
Senators and deputies from every part of Italy. It 
seems it is not always quite an easy task to receive and 
to keep the peace between all these gentlemen, many of 
whom are of totally opposite views and opinions. I 
fancy the poor Comtesse rather regrets at times her 
quiet Piedmontese receptions ; but Sclopis, being now 



134 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

President of the Senate, devotes himself to the task of 
bringing his colleagues together and encouraging a 
friendly spirit between them. Altogether it was 
amusing, and we at last made the acquaintance of the 
Marquis Caracciuolo, la Neapolitan whom C. had a 
recommendation for when we went to Naples, and who 
was arrested the day after C. delivered his letter. 

I am thinking of taking Italian lessons again and 
having Piferi in the evenings. As I hear so much 
Italian now it might be useful. Besides, it is the fashion 
here ; they say even Cavour is learning Italian ! It 
certainly does not come naturally to the Piedmontese, 
Regno d' Italia though we may be ! 

I have received a little note from W.^ to say good- 
bye, and hoping to come back by the North of Italy 
and pay us a visit, which would be dehghtful. 

It is Sunday, and as bright a day as you could wish 
to see. Our two birds are singing almost too loud, and 
C. is at home, for a wonder. That is to say, just at 
this particular moment he is calling on Professor 
Matteuci, but he is not at the Chancellerie ! By a 
new arrangement the gentlemen take it by turns now 
to go there on a Sunday, so that out of three they have 
two to themselves. It is curious that such a very 
simple idea never came into their heads before ; but, as 
I told you, there has been a slight rebellion, and they 
are now determined to take things coolly. It is delight- 
ful having C. on a Sunday, instead of seeing him every 
morning, all the year round, go off to that nasty 
Chancellerie. 

Altogether we are getting to be so comfortable that 
my desire to go to Rome is decidedly decreasing. I 

^ Mr. W. H. Waddington was just setting out for the East, where 
he remained a long time in Asia Minor, staying at Damascus, &c. 



TURIN 135 

want to persuade C. to go this afternoon to the Peruzzi, 
as it is her day, and perhaps this evening to the 
Robilants'. He is always glad when he has made the 
effort, and he certainly would be difficult to please if he 
was not satisfied with the reception we meet with 
everywhere. 

I have begun my Italian lessons with Piferi again, 
and we are reading " II Principe," by Machiavelli, 
which regularly puts C. to sleep, to Piferi's great 
consternation, as he thinks it an extraordinary pheno- 
menon, entirely attributable to Machiavelli ! 

You may fancy my feelings when C. coolly announced 
to me on Saturday that he had invited our Roman 
friend, Dr. Pantaleoni, and an Englishman, Mr. 
Cartwright, to dinner for the next day, quite for- 
getting it was Easter Sunday. I should have been 
very glad to see the two gentlemen any other day ; 
however, it could not be helped, and the dinner went 
off quite pleasantly. Poor Pantaleoni seemed very 
low. He has been banished from Rome by the Papal 
Government as a Liberal, and obliged to leave his 
family and all his patients at a moment's notice and 
come to Turin, which is the universal refuge for all 
such cases. Happily for him, he has been named to the 
Chamber of Deputies for some constituency, and will 
now take his seat here, which will give him some sort 
of raison d'itre. I was very glad to see him ; he was 
so kind to us in Rome, and it reminded me of all the 
happy days we spent there — so wonderfully happy and 
light-hearted they seem now ! 

I have been very busy drawing all this week, as I 
wish to make an effort and finish Charles I.'s children 
by Van Dyke. It is quite the most troublesome thing '■-, 
I have undertaken yet, as all the lace and satin and 



J 



136 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

velvet is so wonderfully painted that it drives one 
almost distracted. 

I have been quite too tired to write these days past. 
I went to the famous sitting of the Chambers Saturday 
last,^ stood for four hours, saw and heard Garibaldi, 
Ricasoli, Cavour, Bixio, Crispi, &c.; came back in such 
a state of excitement that I felt no fatigue and could 
not keep quiet at home, and went to Mme. de Boyl's, 
C. picking me up there after going himself to the 
Arconati's. (The next day I went again to the 
Chambers, heard some very long, dull speeches, and 
later Liborio Romano and Bixio ; fortunately, I had 
a chair that day, for I was feeling very tired, and 
since then I have been half dead, and do not seem 
to find it possible to get really rested.) It was Mme. 
Bartholeyns who proposed our going together to 
the Chamber ; she seems to have taken up politics 
suddenly, not finding much else to interest or occupy 
her here, I suppose. I was rather doubtful, having 
heard much of the crowd and difficulty of getting in ; 
however, as Mme. Bartholeyns reminded me, we both 
had a right to places, and we determined to try. 
When we got to the door of the tribune diplomatique 
my heart failed me, and had I been alone I should 
certainly have gone back ; not only did it seem 
completely full, but the vestibule outside was full of 
ladies — Comtesse Alfieri, Comtesse Carpenette, &c. — 
waiting in hopes of getting a turn later. Mme. 

^ The discussion on bringing the army of volunteers which had 
rendered such brilliant services under Garibaldi's independent 
command under the control of the Government — a measure most 
unwelcome to the regular army, which saw its ranks suddenly 
flooded by this great influx of officers and men, all of undoubted 
bravery, but many of whom were also undoubtedly adventurers. 



TURIN 137 

Bartholeyns, however, made her way in, and after 
a few minutes two gentlemen made room for us on 
the front row, where we had to stand, it is true, but 
could see and hear everything that went on. Soon 
Garibaldi came in, leaning on two friends, who sat 
down afterwards one on each side of him. He suffers 
from rheumatism, and is very lame. As you know, 
it was the first time he took his seat in the Chamber, 
and he was received with great applause, all the 
deputies rising. He is exactly like his portraits, with 
fine, regular features, which tell well at a distance. He 
was dressed in a red shirt, of course, over which he 
had a grey cloak falling in picturesque folds ; his 
whole appearance was somewhat theatrical. Ricasoli 
rose and made a very good speech on lines that had 
been agreed upon that very morning between him 
and Garibaldi, with a view to conducting the whole 
difficult discussion in a conciliatory manner. It was 
this interview with Ricasoli, which was known to have 
taken place, which made all the violent scenes that 
followed such a surprise. I like Ricasoli's appearance ; 
he is tres grand seigneur^ ^g^y» but looks clever and 
decided. Garibaldi spoke after him. He has a 
splendid voice, which filled the whole chamber, and 
speaks slowly, but not without eloquence. He did 
not get on far, however, before the excitement began, 
and when he came to the guerra fratricida, Cavour 
jumped up as if he was stung, and, thumping on the 
green table at which the Ministers sit, declared that 
such language he could not and would not hear ! 
Whereupon Garibaldi repeated the expression over 
again ! The effect was tremendous ; all the deputies 
left their seats, crowding down to the centre, all 
talking, screaming, and gesticulating at once. The 



138 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

public tribunes, which were full of red shirts, 
applauded. The President put on his hat. Such a 
scene I had never witnessed. Some people talked to 
Cavour, some to Garibaldi ; the whole thing was 
quite unlooked for, as I said, on account of the 
arrangement with Ricasoli that very morning. What 
made Garibaldi change his mind and break the 
agreement is not known, but he is said to be quite 
under the influence of those around him, violent 
men, who make use of him as an instrument. In 
about half an hour the seance began again. Bixio 
made a very good speech, appealing to the good 
feelings on both sides, and then Cavour, I must say, 
won my admiration by the moderation of his reply. 
After seeing him so roused to anger, I should not 
have believed it possible that he could have got 
sufficiently calm in so short a time to answer as he 
did. He must have wonderful power of self-command. 
I cannot describe to you the excitement of the scene ; 
some deputies were crying, and no wonder, seeing the 
two first men of the Italian movement so disunited. 
Garibaldi sat immovable the whole time, and when 
Bixio and Cavour, appealing to the patriotic feelings 
of all parties, declared that the first part of the seance 
should be considered as non avenue. Garibaldi could 
not be got to say a generous word, and merely went 
on attacking Cavour in his reply to the other's really 
wonderfully conciliatory speech. Cavour certainly 
had the beau role on the occasion. Poor Peruzzi, 
who sat between Cavour and Fanti, the Minister of 
War, seemed to have a hard task in trying to pacify 
his two colleagues. Some of the deputies came up 
the steps near our tribuue and talked with Sir James 
Hudson and others. Pantaleoni talked to me. An 



TURIN 139 

Englishman who was with us explained to Mme. 
Bartholeyns that he had been to Sicily with Garibaldi 
and had commanded the second corps in the expedition 
there. Of course, he was immensely interested in all 
that was going on, but maintained that Garibaldi was 
quite right, and that the Italian Government had treated 
the volunteers in a "beastly manner"! He did not 
give me a very exalted idea of the personnel of the 
Sicilian expedition, but at that moment everybody 
talked to everybody ! I found myself, rather to my 
surprise, speaking Italian to a lady behind me, who 
told me she had travelled far to come to this seance, 
and was so carried away by her feelings that she 
ended by leaning her whole weight on my shoulders. 
I also found myself applauding Bixio with great energy 
before I was quite aware of what I was doing. To give 
you an idea of the crowding in the tribune, I had, when 
I first came in, one person between me and a column. 
Before the end, although I was not aware of having at 
all changed my position, there were four between me 
and the column ! That evening, at Mme. de Boyl's, 
I excited great envy, for Mme. d'Aglie had not 
succeeded in getting into the Chamber, having gone 
too late. When the evening papers were brought in 
she read the speeches aloud, and I quite confess that 
I gained from them a much clearer idea of the pro- 
ceedings than I had had before. 

Our apartment seems to me quite a little paradise, April 11. 
and I think C. is entirely of the same opinion. Just 
now he is reading, smoking, and enjoying his Sunday 
holiday ; the birds are singing, and the room is per- 
fumed with flowers. On one table is a most elegant 
bouquet sent by Mme. de Boyl — forget-me-nots, with 
a garland of wisteria hanging quite low round them. 



140 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

Some of the first lilies of the valley, a present from the 
Tottenhams, are on my writing-table, and every breath 
of air from the open window brings in the sweet smell 
of roses on the balcony. 

I went to the Chambers again after I wrote, but it 
was fearfully dull. Mme. Bartholeyns, who goes with 
me, looks upon it as an Italian lesson which costs 
nothing, when there is no other interest in the pro- 
ceedings. 

Our dinner at the Sforzas' was quite pleasant. 
There was a Professor Villari, a Neapolitan, who has 
just written a Life of Savonarola, which is said to be 
very good. I sat between him and a Piedmontese, 
Marquis Cocconito. We talked Italian all the time, 
and I amused myself very well. The Duchesse Sforza 
has lent me Villari's book, which seems deeply inter- 
esting, and he himself is very agreeable. In the 
evening we went on to the Sclopis', who are always 
too kind to us ! There were a number of people 
there, as always now, and the Peruzzis came late. 
I had a long conversation with Poerio and Peruzzi. 
The former is worthy and interesting, but not a 
" passion " of mine, whereas I have warned C. that I 
have a decided feeling for Peruzzi ! He is one of 
the most agreeable men I know, and looks so good- 
natured, with something fin et railleur behind his 
spectacles. Then he and Mme. Emilia are so happy 
and attached to each other. " Ma chere, quelle 
afFreuse chose d'etre Ministre ; je ne vois presque plus 
Ubaldino ! " is her constant complaint. 

Yesterday I made a round of visits, finding every 
one at home. I went early to the d'Aglie, as I wanted 
to have a quiet chat. There was, however, a milord 
Anglais already installed in her drawing-room, whom 



TURIN 



141 



she and Mme. Alfieri and other ladies were fussing 
about a great deal, calling him milord, &c. He did 
look so English that I was quite intriguee, and wrote 
to the d'Aglie to ask who he was. He turns out to 
be the younger d'Azeglio, who is Italian Minister 
in England. She says he will be enchanted to have 
been taken for an Englishman, as his great ambition is 
to look like one. Certainly his ** get up " was ex- 
cellent. Mme. d'Aglie has given me her photograph, 
which I had been promised some time ago. It is 
pretty and graceful, and not unsatisfactory. 

You must know that I have taken a cooking turn 
suddenly ! Old Piferi, my Italian master, has lent me 
a cookery book by Soyer, which is extremely clear 
and elementary. The other day I made a beef-steak 
pudding, to Giuseppe's and my mutual astonishment. 

I had not intended going to the races, but was 
inveigled into it, and the sight was very pretty. Instead 
of sitting in tents, people sit now in their carriages all 
round the racecourse, and the effect is much better. 
Nearly all the ladies wore round hats (pork-pies .?), 
like the one L. had from Heath. There was rather an 
abuse of the new colour magenta and purple feathers and 
nets perhaps, but the little hats with ,the light-coloured 
piques and muslins, all made loose en Zouave, made a 
very pretty costume. Then there are certainly very 
handsome people amongst the society here, and I think 
it would be difficult to find a more aristocratic assembly 
than that which was walking about the Place d'Armes 
the other day — Mme. de Carpenette and her two 
beautiful daughters, the little Cigala, who is a lovely 
fair-haired girl, the Comtesse Gattinara, &c., all 
looking their best. 

Fancy our astonishment the other morning when two 



142 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

tall monks in white, accompanied by a priest, walked 
into the drawing-room ! They turned out to be 
Camaldolensi, from Monte Corona, near Perugia. C. 
says you will remember one of them, a very tall gentle- 
manly man, who knew Uncle E. They are here in 
great distress, poor people, about the suppression of 
their convent, and came to see if C. could help them. 
I am afraid he cannot, for he has already had an 
interview with the Minister on behalf of the Bavarian 
nuns of Assisi, who have also been suppressed, and about 
whom the Marchesa wrote to him. It seems that 
instead of applying the Piedmontese laws, which are 
just and moderate, as has been done in Naples and 
Sicily, Pepoli has taken violent and summary measures 
in Umbria, where he is commissary, and there is nothing 
to be done for all these poor people. They are cer- 
tainly hardly treated, as they are turned out of all their 
possessions, and most of them have no homes to go to. 
Now, by way of change, after doing his best to 
protect the Umbrian convents, C. is going to the 
Vaudois valleys for the Synod, so that I shall be alone 
for two or three days. He returned yesterday morning 
in great spirits, having enjoyed himself very much at 
Latour. He says the beauty of the country was quite 
beyond expression. The Synod was very interesting 
and important. Only fancy that I got to the end of 
my letter without mentioning your photograph. It is 
really much better than I expected ; quite successful on 
the whole, although the expression is rather severe. 
I have put you in my paravent, turning your back on 
C. in a very decided manner. These little photographs 
are really a blessed invention for those who live far 
from their loved ones ! 
May 30. In the evening there was the comedie de sociite. C. 



TURIN 143 

took me to the Peruzzis', as I was to go with them. 
M. Peruzzi got into my cab and drove with me en 
tete-a-t^te to the theatre, whereat I felt flattered. More- 
over, he gave me his arm and led me up the room, 
people bowing on all sides. I was with the Florentine 
set, Mme. de Cambray Digny and Mme. Peruzzi. 
There was a long pause, waiting for the Duchess of 
Genoa, who came at last, accompanied by her ladies, 
for she has two now — the Castiglione, whom you saw 
at the lakes, and Mme. Gattinara, the beauty. The 
d'Aglie acted very well. She had quite a succes^ and 
when, having finished her part, she appeared amongst 
the spectators, she was greeted with great applause and 
complimented by the Duchess. 

I have asked Pifferi to dinner, and am going to make June i, 
him a cherry tart ! 

C. has gone out early this morning to inquire about 
Cavour, the great object of interest and anxiety at 
present. He has to telegraph about him both to 
Berlin and to Brassier, who is away at present. Cavour 
being seriously ill makes one feel doubly the fearful 
importance of his existence at the present moment. In 
the midst of the fetes for the Statuto which have been 
going on, races, reviews, a fancy fair, and finally a Court 
ball last night, people have not realised his illness as 
much as they would at a quieter time. Of course, we 
took no part in anything. 

It hardly seems possible to recover from the general June 7. 
sort of stupefaction which followed Cavour's death, ^ 
I have just been paying some visits, trying to get a few 
details ; but it came so suddenly, and his dangerous 
state was hushed up as much as possible on account of 

^ The great statesman, Count Camillo Cavour, died on June 6, 
1 86 1, at Turin, after a short illness. 



144 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

the fetes and the Court ball, so that very few really know 
anything about what happened, and the accounts are 
dreadfully confused. It seems positive that from the 
first he was taken suddenly and violently ill, and that 
he had a great deal of delirium. He sent for Fra 
Giacomo from the neighbouring convent of the 
Madonna degli Angli, confessed, and was administrL 
*' II est mort tres chretiennement." The only people 
who were with him were his elder brother, the Marquis 
Cavour, his nephew. Count Eynard Cavour, and his 
niece, the Comtesse Alfieri. In his delirium he was 
constantly occupied with politics and calling out about 
Rome and Naples. He was only fifty-one. It is too 
sad ! Never, I suppose, was a man more regretted or 
seemingly more indispensable. We can hardly think 
or talk of anything else. 

Yesterday I had a long visit from the d'Aglie, She 
and her mother, Mme. de Boyl, were great friends of 
Cavour's, and are much affected by his death. She told 
me a little more about it. The King went to see him 
on the Tuesday or Wednesday evening, I forget which. 
He came in accompanied by several people, but Cavour 
recognised him instantly : " Ah ! sua Maesta ! " All 
then left the room, and they talked for three-quarters 
of an hour. The King came out pie ur ant a chaudes 
larmes^ and did all he could pour arracher aux medecine 
une parole d'espoir. But Riberi would not give 
him any hope, and, indeed, they say that from the 
moment he was taken ill there was none. The d'Aglie 
says Cavour was not exactly delirious ; it was more an 
excited way of talking continually and disconnectedly. 
What he said was all right, but his ideas followed each 
other at random. One subject that occupied him much 
was the navy, as he had been preparing a projet de 



TURIN 145 

lot on it just before his illness. It is a curious proof 
of the universality of his genius that he is as much 
regretted as " Ministre de la Marine " as in any other 
capacity. It seems he was a most excellent Minister. 
He died with great calmness, without expressing any 
regret, although leaving so much unfinished which he 
had no doubt hoped to accomplish. He expressed his 
faith in the destinies of Italy. All the shops in the 
town were spontaneously closed when the news of his 
death spread, and remained so for two days, and the 
grief and consternation were quite universal. The 
body lay in state, and people were allowed to pass by 
and see him, dressed in uniform with white gloves. 
His funeral would have been a grand sight had not the 
weather been so bad, but it poured rain unfortunately. 
C. went to the Madonna degli Angeli, Cavour's parish 
church, quite a small one, near us. Very few out of 
the crowds that followed the procession were admitted. 
Only the Corps diplomatique, the Senate, the deputies, 
&c. The Court servants in their red liveries took the 
place of chief mourners, none of the family being 
present. Altogether the ceremony does not seem to 
have been very satisfactory, and C. felt the contrast 
with the one we so lately witnessed at Bonn, where 
there was so much less outward show, but where his 
father's coffin was reverently borne by his own sons, 
and where the family followed with heartfelt grief. 
Brassier has been at Savona all the time, everyone 
wondering at his absence ! He returns to-day, when 
there is no longer any need of him. Poor Hudson is 
dreadfully shaken and pulled down ; he was personally 
attached to Cavour. The King wished to give 
Cavour a monument at the Superga, but he is 
buried by his own wish at Santena, his family place. 

II 



146 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

I gave you what details I could about Cavour; the 
newspaper accounts are both contradictory and unsatis- 
factory. Even here on the spot it is difficult to make 
out much. He seems to have died very simply, 
without fear or regret, doing all that a good Catholic 
should do. Though his death is lamented by the 
whole country more perhaps than any man's ever was, 
he had none very near and dear to surround him at the 
last — at least none of the closest ties. He was, how- 
ever, much attached to his eldest brother's children. 
At the time of the death of his nephew, Auguste de 
Cavour, who was mortally wounded at the battle of 
Goito in 1848, Cavour wrote : " Auguste est mort le 
sourire sur les levres, en soldat et en chretien. C'est 
assurement la plus belle des morts, et la plus enviable ; 
elle est affreuse pour ceux qui restent." Until his last 
days this nephew's blood-stained uniform hung in a 
glass case in the great statesman's study. He was also 
very fond of his niece, the Comtesse Alfieri ; in writing 
of her to his great friend, Mme, de Circourt, he says : 
*' C'est ce que mon frere et moi avons de plus cher au 
monde." 

The two brothers lived together (the Marquis being 
a widower) in the old family palace. They were of 
different opinions in politics, the eldest being somewhat 
of a Codino^ and not approving all the novelties his 
brother was introducing. 

It is said that already in the times of the Siccardi 
laws, Cavour, wishing to avoid a scandal like that which 
took place at the death of poor Santa Rosa,i had made 

^ The Minister Santa Rosa, though a man of the highest cha- 
racter and a sincere Catholic, was refused the last sacraments, to 
the intense grief of his family and himself, on account of his sanction 
of the Siccardi laws against the old-world privileges of the clergy. 



TURIN 147 

arrangements with a friend of his, Fra Giacomo, a 
Capuchin of the Madonna degli Angeli, who promised 
to administer to him the last consolations of religion. 
Cavour wished it to be known that he had prepared 
himself for the great passage to eternity and that he 
died as a Christian, whatever might be said against him. 
A member of the French Legation here happened 
to be passing in the street when they were bearing the 
last sacraments to Casa Cavour. He took a lighted 
taper, went in with the crowd, and was present at that 
solemn moment. It remains to be seen what will 
happen now to Fra Giacomo, for Cavour was positively 
excommunicated. C. and I read his name, as well as 
that of the King, on the columns at the entrance to St. 
Peter's at Rome in i860. Many of the foreigners here 
think that Cavour, like many others, was a victim to 
too much bleeding,! the Piedmontese doctors being still 
devoted to that old remedy. 

Ricasoli is now President du Conseil ; it is a heavy 
responsibility, but although he has not Cavour's genius, 
he is a perfectly honest and upright man, of ancient 
Tuscan family, devoted to the Italian cause and to the 
House of Savoy. As you know, he governed Tuscany 
during the difficult times of the war and the annexation 
to Piedmont, 

^ He was bled six times in the first days of his illness. 



CHAPTER VII 

Birth of my little girl — Meet Madame Benedetti — Presentation to 
the Duchess of Genoa — Meet Mdlle. A., governess to Princess 
Marguerite — Court ball — The Carnival — Visit to Palace — 
B.'s presentation — Villa Tournon Radicati — Moncalieri — 
C. gets Austrian decoration. 

MY little girl was born in September, and my 
mother, who had been with me for some time, 
left towards the end of October. 

Nov. 6. I have really had no time to write. Baby is, of 

course, a great occupation, and I never seem able to 
finish with things. You will be glad to hear that C. 
has come in for a small share of royal favours. He 
has been named to the " Rothen Adler Orden vierter 
Klasse." Brassier had nothing to do with it, and it 
came spontaneously from Berlin, which makes it all the 
more satisfactory. S. saw it in the German paper, and 
watched for C.'s arrival at the Chancellerie zu gratuliren 
(to congratulate). All the colleagues are now repeating 
to C. a sort of mongrel rhyme, well known, it seems, 
in Germany — 

" Das Verdienst der grossen Masse 
Lohnt der Vogel vierter Klasse" 

(The services of the great mass are rewarded by the bird 
of the fourth class) ; but, as one cannot begin with the 

higher Klasse, I am quite satisfied. 

148 



TURIN 149 

The other day I had not taken off my things after 
my usual walk with baby and nurse when Mrs. Cadogan 
was announced, bringing with her a very hideous but 
most amusing big poodle she calls Agrippina. Before 
she left others came — Pfuel, fresh from Rome and 
Florence, and Mme. Peruzzi, who was really in over- 
flowing spirits. She has just accompanied her husband 
on his official journey to Naples and Sicily. She 
described the receptions everywhere, " dix collations 
par jour," every kind of public institution to visit — 
hospitals, schools, museums, botanical gardens, &c. — 
till any one with less strength and energy would 
certainly have been worn out. " Ma chere enfant, a 
Turin je suis toujours un peu melancolique " (I cannot 
truthfully say that I ever perceived it), " mais avec tous 
ces Napolitains, ces Siciliens, qui sont tres gais, je me 
suis abandonnee a ma fougue naturelle ! " What was 
really touching to see, it appears, was the astonishment 
and gratitude of the people in all these out-of-the-way 
places at a Minister taking the trouble to come himself 
and look after them. Such a thing had never happened 
before. By the time Mme. Peruzzi left it was quite 
dark, and Pfuel said at last : " Je vous quitte, parcequ'il 
faut cependant que vous otiez votre chapeau." 

I have at last seen Mme. Benedetti ; she is a Greek Nov. 25. 
by birth, and very handsome still, although I believe 
she has a grown-up daughter. She has beautiful teeth 
and a charming smile, so that, though her conversation 
is not particularly brilliant, she is pleasant to look at. 
They have taken a very fine apartment, and are a good 
deal fussed over here, as Benedetti is the first French 
Minister to the new kingdom of Italy, which Napoleon 
would not recognise for some time. Now comes the 
question of my presentation to the Duchess of Genoa, 



150 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

which did not take place last year on account of our 
being in mourning. This entails dressing decolletee 
at three or four in the afternoon, and seems rather a 
wonderful ceremony. 
Dec. 2. Yesterday we went to Mme. Peruzzi's reception ; 

it is a charming house to go to, and she is quite affec- 
tionate. Peruzzi came in from his Ministere ; he is 
more dignified than he used to be. He is still extremely 
kind, but it is the benignity of a superior being. I am 
scribbling in a great hurry ; I want to see baby started 
for her walk, then, as we have no cook for the moment, 
I must go to the kitchen to superintend the stuffing of 
a turkey and see about a pudding for dinner. Then a 
meeting of my society, visits and commissions, and back 
in time to see the turkey carved and ready to serve ! 
I do hope we shall soon find a cook, for, though the 
charwoman and I manage splendidly with the help of 
Soyer's book, I feel quite overworked sometimes. 
The other evening we went to the Legations-Tante^ 
as the gentlemen of the Legation call Mme. de 
Robilant. It was very nice to hear the congratula- 
tions on all sides on my reappearance in society. We 
really belong to her circle now, and when the Piedmon- 
tese get used to you I think they get attached to you, 
but it takes time. Count Charles de Robilant gave me 
an account of all the ceremonies at Konigsberg for the 
coronation of our King,i at which he has been present. 
Weber, our Legation doctor, called this morning an4 
told us some interesting things about the convents he 
attends. Owing to the unnatural lives the poor nuns 
lead, the want of proper food and exercise, he has many 
patients among them. Lately he had to amputate one 
of the Sacramentini ; to use chloroform would have 
^ Afterwards the Emperor Wilhelm. 



TURIN 151 

been contrary to the rules of the order, and it was a 
difficult operation. He was quite moved when he 
spoke of the courage she showed. A crucifix in her 
hand, she endured all without a sound ; and when he 
asked her if she suffered, she said : " Jesus Christ a 
bien plus endure." 

He said it was splendid, but that he could not 
understand it. Another nun who was dying took 
leave of him, saying : " Adieu, doctor ; I shall soon be 
in heaven, and there I shall pray for you." It is a 
comfort to think that he should have something to 
admire, and to raise him above the wretched realities 
he is forced to dwell upon habitually. 

We have taken a woman cook, who comes to-morrow. Dec. 8. 
I hope she will be a help towards getting out of the 
rush and confusion in which I live at present. 

I had intended wearing my blue satin for my pre- 
sentation to the Duchess of Genoa, but at the last 
moment, when everything was ready, we received a 
notification to the efi^ect that the Court is in mourning 
for the King of Portugal, and all had to be changed. 
Mme. Benedetti presents M. and Mme. de Hochschild 
(Sweden) and myself. 

The presentation is over, and was altogether rather a Dec. 17. 
striking ceremony. The Duchess inhabits one of the 
wings of the royal palace, which is called Palazzo 
Ducale ; the apartment is very handsome, and there 
were rows of servants in scarlet lining the way. The 
rooms were all heated, which was a comfort, and we 
were met at the entrance of a sort of gallery hung with 
old tapestry by Count Gattinara, the husband of the 
beauty, who is chevalier d'honneur. He was en habit de 
Cour, sword and all, and conducted us into a drawing- 
room, after which he disappeared, coming back after a 



152 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

pause for M. de Hochschild. It was rather like wait- 
ing at the dentist's. Poor Mme. Benedetti looked blue 
with cold. Mme. Hochschild was red from the same 
cause ; we had been driving between the heaps of snow 
in the streets. After a time Hochschild reappeared, 
and then the Comtesse Gattinara came to fetch us. We 
entered according to rank, each making a plongeon at 
the door, and two more as we advanced. It was like a 
scene in a play — the beautiful Gattinara in black velvet 
and diamonds in the background, then the Duchess, 
who looked extremely well, also in black and diamonds, 
with a long white feather in her black coiffure and 
a magnificent pearl necklace. We stood in a row. 
After speaking to the Hochschild, the Duchess came 
to me, said she remembered seeing C, asked if I could 
speak German, if I had children. She knew I had been 
in mourning last year, for she had not seen me. Alto- 
gether she was very gracious. A little general con- 
versation followed, and we were soon dismissed with a 
dignified nod. Then came the worst part of the 
business — retreating backwards to the door, and a 
curtsy before disappearing. As I came last, I was left 
alone, and made rather a run for it. The whole affair 
may have lasted ten minutes ; we rejoined M. de 
Hochschild outside and went off. I felt decidedly 
more impressed than I had expected — and queer, 
moreover, in full dress at that time of day. 

How dreadful the death of poor Prince Albert is, 
coming so suddenly and unexpectedly ! 

We had a visit lately from the Comtesse Castiglione, 
the lady-in-waiting of the Duchess of Genoa, who came 
to ask leave to introduce a young German lady who 
is governess to the little Princess Marguerite. She has 
arrived lately, and would like to be en rapport with our 



TURIN 153 

Legation. Of course we said we should be delighted, 
and it was agreed that the Comtesse should bring her 
next day. I was expecting them in C.'s study, which 
is small, but which we are driven to inhabit during this 
bitter cold, as it warms better than the drawing-room, 
when in walked M. and Mme. Benedetti ! I had 
scarcely installed them when the two other ladies 
arrived, and it seemed at first as if the room would 
not contain so many crinolines, but they did settle 
down somehow. The German lady, who is Austrian, 
it appears, said she wished so much to make my 
acquaintance. H.R.H. had spoken of me to her. 
She knew I could speak German ; H.R.H. had told 
her so, &c. She told me how much she should like to 
get some companions for her little Princess, who never 
sees any children of her own age, but that the jealousies 
and rivalries of the Court families here made it almost 
impossible. Altogether I liked Mdlle. A., who seems 
pleasant and clever and is a first-rate musician. 

I drove yesterday to the palace to return Mdlle. A's Jan, 4, 

• • A r 1-11 • J • 1862. 

visit. After proceeding by sundry staircases and corri- 
dors delightfully heated, I was shown into a snug little 
room, where I found her sitting very comfortably. 
Presently she went to fetch the little Princess, and 
presented me to her. It seems so strange to hear a 
child of ten spoken of as Madame, and to have to say 
Madame to her, but Madame Marguerite de Savoie is 
her style and title. The little Princess is very pretty, 
still pale from a severe illness, and rather grave and 
stately. She leads a solitary life, and often asks her 
governess : " Shall I never have companions to play 
with me .? " She speaks German very well, and 
Mdlle. A. wants her to learn English. Altogether 
it was an interesting visit. Mdlle. A. seems very 



154 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

nice, and warmly attached to her little Princess. I 
must tell you about the Court ball, which was very 
brilliant, as they always are here. Our carriage fol- 
lowed the Chief's, as usual, to the private entrance. 
When we got to the little antechamber we found the 
Legation all assembled, and there was an exclamation 
of admiration at my lace as I took off my cloak. It 
was the famous garniture de Malines on mauve silk, 
just arrived from Paris, where it was sent to be made 
up. Afterwards, in the room where we wait, I met 
the d'Aglie, Benedetti, &c., and I had more compli- 
ments on my lace. Then we proceeded to take our 
seats, which were pointed out to us by the Marquis 
de Breme, Grand Maitre des Ceremonies. When the 
King appeared the quadrille d'honneur was danced, the 
Prince of Sweden, who was the guest of the evening, 
joining in it. Mme. Benedetti was left out, which 
was wrong, of course ; but mistakes of that kind are 
often made here. We stayed for supper, which was 
an extremely pretty sight — no end of little tables laid 
out in the long gallery, with ladies in brilliant dresses 
sitting at them, abundance of uniforms and decora- 
tions, the servants in their scarlet gala liveries, every- 
thing served on silver : it all looked charming. Castro, 
the Portuguese, took me in, C. taking Mme. de 
Castro. We ladies got seats and poured out cham- 
pagne for the gentlemen, who stood around. They 
were not contented with that, however, but took our 
places when we had done and made a regular meal. 
I have forgotten to describe Prince Oscar of Sweden, 
the lion of the ball. He looks quite French, tall, 
spare, and dark, a great contrast to the fair, yellow- 
haired, jolly-looking Swedes of his escort. He danced 
the whole evening, and won the hearts of the Turin 



TURIN 155 

ladies by taking out every one in the cotillon. 
Menabrea asked C. to introduce him to me ; the 
hero of Gaeta is extremely agreeable and courteous in 
manner. 

I heartily wish the carnival was over, for my part ! Feb. 13. 
Unfortunately, such is far from being the case. Yes- 
terday I had two boxes at the Reggio, an invitation to 
a dramatic performance at which the Princesses were 
to be present, and a box at the Theatre d'Angennes. 
It was really too much at once, and I spent much time 
in writing notes and excuses. At last we took the Bar- 
toieyns to the Reggio and heard the opera " Pollinto," 
which is glorious. Afterwards we had tea at the 
Hochschild's. On Sunday there was the hal des 
demoiselles or des " Tote^' as they call them here, where 
all the debutantes come out — we did not go, for which 
I am sorry, as it must be interesting to see all the 
girls fresh from their convents — such beauties, too, as 
come out year after year. They marry at once, and 
are soon to be seen marshalling their army of admirers 
as if they had never known a life of seclusion. Last 
year there was quite a romance connected with one of 
these functions. A Count E. was coming to Turin to 
meet at the " Tote " ball a young lady whom his family 
wished him to marry. As it happened he travelled in 
the same carriage with a girl so beautiful that he fell ' 
violently in love with her on the spot, without even 
having exchanged a word. So deep was the impression 
produced that on his arrival in Turin he declared to his 
father that he could not follow up the plans formed for 
him, as the only person he could think of marrying was 
his helle inconnue. His father was not unnaturally 
much annoyed at this novel and most un-Piedmontese 
experience. The future alliance had been arranged 



156 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

with a Count L., a great friend of his, it was suitable in 
all points of view, and it was awkward and unpleasant 
to have to withdraw from it. The young man was 
determined, however, and his father had to inform 
Count L. of this most unexpected freak. What, how- 
ever, was the surprise of young Count E. when he 
discovered at the " Tote " ball that the beauty he had 
seen by moonlight and his intended bride were one and 
the same person ! Of course he was now most willing 
and eager to conform to his father's wishes, but there 
was no small amount of difficulty before all could be got 
right. Count L. resented this fast-and-loose proceeding 
about his daughter, and did not approve of people 
falling suddenly in love and upsetting previous well 
concerted arrangements. He was ultimately brought 
round, however, and the little Comtesse E. is now one 
of the acknowleged beauties of Turin society. But to 
return to my list. Monday, Ricasoli's third ball, to which 
C. went alone, which was very good of him. To-morrow 
the Lima's, Thursday Robilant's, Friday d'Adda's 
(Governor of Turin), Saturday there is something, but 
I don't remember what ! The other day we had made 
up our minds to have an evening at home, when an 
ominous ring was heard and a note from Mme. 
Peruzzi was brought in asking us to go to the Veg- 
lione at the Reggio. As I had never seen a masked 
ball before, I was quite pleased to go. The theatre, 
illuminated a giorno^ looked very brilliant, and the pit 
was full of masks. Only two dominoes came into the 
box, however, and people seemed to think it very 
dull in comparison with the Veglioni at Venice or 
Florence. 

The same day I had been to see Mdlle. A. at 
the palace, and Madame Mar^erite came in. She is 




ROYAL PALACE AT TURIN, WITH THE PALAZZO DUCALE OX THE LEFT. 



To face i\ 156.] 



TURIN 157 

determined to see the baby, but how the interview 
is to be managed, according to the laws of etiquette, 
which are so strict here, is quite a puzzle. The nurse 
is the difficulty, as no servant can be allowed to go 
up Vescalier des ■princes^ or enter their apartment. As 
B. cannot go without her nurse, they will really have 
to solve the problem for themselves ! Madame Mar- 
guerite must be like her father, the Duke of Genoa, 
who is said to have been quite irresistible, for she 
has a great charm, besides being very pretty, with 
masses of splendid hair. She interests me so much ; 
she is so simple and natural, making the best of 
her solitary life and amusing herself quite cheerfully, 
in spite of the stiffness of her surroundings. She 
showed me her doll, a splendid creature, who has hand- 
kerchiefs trimmed with real Valenciennes ! Some time 
afterwards, when I was still talking quietly with Mdlle. A., 
the little Princess rushed in quite suddenly, gave me a 
kiss on one cheek, and disappeared. I was much 
pleased with this unexpected honour, for, as Mdlle. A. 
said, " Madame Marguerite vous traite en femme des 
colliers de I'ordre, qu'elle doit toujours embrasser." 
Mdlle. A., 1 am afraid, must also find her life dull. 
The Duchess is always enjoining prudence and caution, 
as the palace is so full of intrigues that she scarcely 
dare say a word to any one. When C. or I go to 
see her, we can hardly get away ; she is so glad to be 
able to talk freely to any one. 

The other day Pfuel met me walking with nurse 
and baby ; he looked long at the latter, and told her 
she had " les yeux du petit frere," which is quite true. 
He also impressed on her the necessity of being pretty, 
" Pour une femme c'est la premiere chose ! " 

On Saturday I got a note from Mdlle. A. with two March 3. 



158 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

tickets for a reprisentation au theatre des marionettes 
given to children by the Duchess of Genoa, and at 
which the little Duke of Genoa and Madame Mar- 
guerite were to be present. One had to take a child 
in order to get in, and B. being as yet too young, I 
borrowed a little Bartholeyns. The Marionettes is a 
dingy little theatre in the old part of the town, very 
popular amongst the Piedmontese, though little known 
to strangers. When we got there the gallery was 
already crowded with children of the best families in 
Turin, the mammas and governesses sitting in the 
background. An open box in the centre was reserved 
for the Princes, who soon arrived, Madame Marguerite 
so pretty and eager, the little Duke rather stolid. 
Mdlle. A. took her place behind her charge, beside 
the old Marquis della Rovere, who is the Duke's 
gouverneur. The marionettes, which are, of course, 
only wooden dolls, were extremely amusing. The 
dialogue was in Piedmontese, and they were made to 
gesticulate in the most surprising manner, every move- 
ment perfectly natural and answering to the situation ; 
it was altogether most quaint and charming. Watch- 
ing Madame Marguerite was also quite a pleasure ; as 
long as the curtain was up she leant forward in rapt 
attention, not losing a word or a gesture of the little 
dolls, and during the entractes gazed with delight at 
all the children around her. We are all wearing long 
chains of big black wooden beads, which are called 
*'les larmes de Venise." The Duchess of Genoa and 
her ladies, Madame Marguerite, Mdlle. A., in short 
most of the people one sees, have them ; they are 
picturesque, and supposed to express one's Venetian 
sympathies. This is entirely an Italian fashion, of 
course, but we have smart ladies here who keep us 



TURIN 159 

up to the mark, and you can see " des suivez-moi, jeune 
homme," i and " des pincez-moi 5a," just as in Paris. , 
My visits to the palace are very interesting, as they 
give me glimpses of a state of things which can hardly 
have changed since the times of Louis XIV. Mdlle. A. 
has asked me, when she sends me a message by a Court 
servant, to let the man come into the room and give him 
the answer myself. This, it seems, is their privilege ! 

There has been a children's ball at Mme. Prevers', 
which was quite a pretty sight. Her eldest daughter 
was en Diane chasseresse. " Pour montrer ses jambes," 
her mother said, " qui sont vraiment jolies et qu'on ne 
pourra plus faire voir plus tard." Mdlle. A. came, as 
she wanted to see the ball, in order to amuse Madame 
Marguerite with an account of it. As she was going 
away the Princess said to her : " N'est ce pas, made- 
moiselle, si je n'etais pas Princess je pourrais aller 
aussi au bal } " She is such a charming child. She 
sent me, the other day, a carte de visite photograph 
of herself with her signature. It was a delightful 
surprise. 

We are quite in a state of mind about the change of 
Ministry, all our friends going out and that horrid 
Ratazzi coming in. On Sunday we went to Mme. 
Peruzzi's reception. She was in great glee, having had 
the whole town in the course of the afternoon, quite 
a demonstration ! When Peruzzi left the Ministere 
many of his employes shed tears. We met them again 
at the Sclopis' that evening, also Menabrea, ex-Minister 
de la Marine, and a number of smaller ex-functionaries. 

Monday was a very tiring day, for I went to the March 19. 
Chamber, where a stormy sitting was expected. Stormy 

^ Long ribbons tied at the throat and floating down to the hem 
of the dress behind. 



i6o IN THREE LEGATIONS 

it was indeed, and unsatisfactory. It was melancholy 
to see Peruzzi sitting amongst the other deputies, and 
to contemplate the row of new Ministers at the green 
table — Ratazzi, thin, clever, and sharp ; Pepoli, stout 
and slovenly, and all the rest only known to me by 
their caricatures in the Fischietto. Of the great men 
who sat there so lately, Cavour dead and Ricasoli 
gone ! The debate was badly managed. It was 
too soon to attack the Ministry, as they have done 
nothing as yet either good or bad, and the very doubt- 
ful means by which they got into power cannot be 
publicly discussed. Ratazzi shuffled, and got the best 
of it to a certain degree. The whole place seemed 
full of bad passions — intrigue, ambition, anger, 
revenge ; no eloquent speeches, nothing elevated or 
stirring — boundless confusion, noise, and agitation. 
I came back with a headache and have still a courbature 
from standing so long. 

We are busy looking out for a vigna, as they call a 
villa here, as we cannot possibly stay in town with the 
baby during the summer heat. We have seen several, 
but as yet none that will suit. 
March 24. The event of the day is B.'s presentation at Court, as 
her long-talked-of visit to Madame Marguerite has 
come off at last. She was in the best of looks and 
spirits when we drove to the palace, and she and her 
nurse were admitted by some back entrance and 
brought to Mdlle. A.'s room, where the Princess came 
to see them. B. behaved very well on this first 
ceremonious occasion ; rather grave to begin with, then 
brightening, and playing with Madame Marguerite's 
gold chain. The Princess inquired if she could walk. 
No ! Could she say "Mama" at least .? No ! so that 
you will see that her ideas of a baby of six months old 



TURIN i6i 

are somewhat hazy. When it was time to go and B. 
found she had to leave the gold chain, she made a 
dismal face and began to cry, so that her nurse speedily 
carried her away. I was rather vexed, as till then the 
visit had gone off so well. Madame Marguerite is 
intensely happy in the possession of a dog which was 
given her a few days ago, and is quite a companion in 
her solitary life. 

We have at last seen a beautiful villa — Tournon April lo. 
Radicati. It is large and roomy and looks as if 
it would be cool indoors, but its great charm is a 
magnificent avenue of chestnut-trees commanding the 
view of the whole range of Alps from the Monte 
Viso to the Monte Rosa, and the wide plain of Turin. 
I do hope we shall be able to get it. Now that the 
trees are getting gradually green I feel quite wild to go 
to the country. 

We have got our villa and are already installed in ViUa 
what seems to us a perfect Paradise. We came out Radicati, 
late yesterday and are all in the first delight, like ^^^' 
children with a new plaything. 

Here we are still in Paradise, the weather is lovely, May 3. 
and our villa more beautiful every day — in our eyes at 
least. We are feeling more at home now in our suites of 
lofty rooms, and have settled into a small one quite at the 
end, which has a balcony from which you can see the 
whole view of the Alps over the trees of the avenue. 
We have put in most of our favourite possessions and 
it really looks like home, and is very cool, moreover. 
Now that we are settled here I hope we shall have 
a quieter life. It would be difficult to give an idea of 
the worry and bother we have had with servants this 
winter, especially cooks. After trying three female 
ones, we decided to revert to the male type, which 

12 



i62 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

after all is the custom of the country. Just as we were 
coming here, we heard that our first cook of all, 
Michele, was looking for a place and is said to have 
given up drinking. He assured me that he looked 
upon me as his mother (which would require a certain 
amount of imagination), and that he was ready to 
follow us to the end of the world ; so, on the assurance 
of his being quite a reformed character we have taken 
him again. It is a wonderful comfort having all that 
concerns meals off my mind. Yesterday, after all the 
bustle and packing, a nice little dinner awaited us here 
when we arrived, as if we had been settled for weeks. 
Besides, now, with fifteen beds in the house and Michele 
in the kitchen, we can ask whoever we like. Our first 
attempt at hospitality was a dinner to the Chief, before 
his departure for Berlin, I paid him a visit in his new 
apartment and gave my invitation in due form. He 
was very good-natured, as he always is when one gets 
really in contact with him, and accepted for the next 
day. His apartment in an old house in the Piazzo 
San Carlo must have been splendid, and even now, 
despite tarnished gilding and speckled mirrors, and 
hideous modern papers in place of silken hangings, 
looks very grand. The next day Brassier did come 
with S. and Loe ; Pfuel had already left. All went off 
well, and we had a splendid gerbe of horse-chestnut 
blossoms on the table in the Japanese vase. 

Quantities of people have promised to come and see 
us, and I don't think I shall feel lonely, though after 
being so long in town it does seem strange to see 
nobody all day, and I confess I am quite glad to see C. 
climbing the short cut on his return from Turin. C.'s 
brother Theodore is here on his way back from 
Japan. It is very pleasant having him, and he keep 



TURIN 163 

me company when C. is away. He has brought me a 
lovely fan from China, made with feathers of the Argus 
pheasant mounted in ivory, very beautiful and original. 
It is most interesting to see all the curiosities he has 
brought with him, and China and Japan are growing 
much more familiar by listening to his descriptions. 

We have got a pony carriage, which is a great con- 
venience now that C. is charge d'' affaires. We heard 
of one to be sold quite complete with two charming 
little Maremma ponies. We have stables and coach- 
house here, and our man Giovanni, who has always 
been employed about horses, is wild with delight at 
having something to drive, and enjoys the ponies 
almost as much as we do. He takes entire charge 
of them, drives and washes up the carriage, besides 
waiting at table and getting through his usual work 
somehow or other. We have augmented his wages to 
eighteen francs a month. 

The other day I went into town for commissions, 
ending up with a visit to Mdlle. A. She and the little 
Princess were quite excited about the ponies, and stood 
at the window to see us pass as we drove away. They 
would like so much to come to the villa, but that 
wonderful etiquette by which they must regulate all 
their actions would only allow of it on condition of 
our being absent., in which case I must say " que je n'y 
tiens pas ! " They had their carriage stopped on the 
highroad lately, inquired for the villa, and looked at it 
from afar. Poor Mdlle. A. often complains of the old- 
world ways of the Court here, which really seem to date 
back to the time of Louis XIV. The other evening 
her Princess, with her brother, the little Duke of 
Genoa, were going to some performance with their 
maison d' education. Madame Marguerite was down 



1 64 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

first and Mdlle. A. made her get into the carriage out 
of the draught. When the little Prince arrived, his 
gouverneur, Count A., said he was sorry, but the 
Princess must come down, as her brother, being of 
superior rank, could not get into the carriage after her, 
and so it had to be. Mdlle. A. was very wroth ; the 
idea of teaching such bad manners to the little boy, 
who is younger than his sister, &c. She even spoke 
of it to their mother. The Duchess said she was 
afraid Count A. was right, and the next time the 
children went out together it would be better to have 
two carriages. Another instance of this wonderful 
etiquette was told me by the Marquise Spinola, to 
whom I had been rather complaining of having to be 
in full dress at four in the afternoon for my presenta- 
tion to the Duchess of Genoa. " Ah, chere ! what 
would you have said some years ago ^ When the 
Queen Mother was ill at Stupinigi (a chateau some 
distance from Turin), we, her ladies, had to drive out 
to inquire for her in low dresses and court trains — not 
to see her, for she was in bed, but to write down our 
names." 

It is curious to trace the old-world customs here in 
all directions. One of them is that the ladies of noble 
families are subjected, like sovereigns, to publicity on 
the occasion of the birth of their children. As soon as 
the event is seen to be approaching, messengers are 
despatched to all the "ascendants" or older members 
of the family, fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts, 
who have a right to invade the room and be present at 
the birth of an heir. Although I have heard many 
complaints of this wonderful custom, it is submitted to 
in general with the fortitude of high-bred women who 
know it to be their appointed lot. On one occasion, 




< H 
2 ^ 




o t 






Pi Q 



TURIN 165 

however, things were near taking a tragical turn. The 
young Comtesse de St. U. had made one of her friends 
promise to be with her when her time of trial came. 
When the family assembled, however, they did not con- 
sider this lady's relationship near enough to entitle her 
to be present on the occasion, and so many unpleasant 
remarks were made that she prepared to leave the room, 
reluctantly abandoning her friend to her fate. This, 
however, the poor de St. U. would not hear of, and cried 
to her desperately, '' Augustine, Augustine, je ne veux 
pas que tu me quittes ! " There was quite a commotion 
till the doctor interfered happily, threatening to turn 
the whole assembly out of the room, as he could not be 
answerable for the consequences if the noise and squab- 
bling continued. Of course, peace was restored, but the 
recovery of the Comtesse de St. U. was much retarded 
by the emotion and excitement she had undergone. 

It has been very cold since we came out here ; we 
have fires every evening, and, when the clouds disperse 
sufficiently to give us a glimpse of the Alps, we can 
see they are covered with snow. C. brought out S. 
to dine and sleep the other day — he is really very nice 
and amusing, and a great upholder of subordination 
and respect for superiors. Now that Brassier is away 
he treats C. quite as his chief, copies his despatches for 
him, &c. Of course, this is only what they call in 
German his "Verfluchte Schuldigkeit " (accursed duty), 
but it is pleasant not to have to exact it. He keeps 
Loe in order, moreover, who has a strong inclination 
to give himself airs. Sunday was a beautiful day and 
I drove in to church. Meille has gone to the valleys 
for a rest, so I went to the English Church and 
enjoyed the beautiful service so much. Mr. Totten- 
ham gave us a nice short sermon, after which I went to 



i66 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

the Legation to fetch C, who, alas ! had had to work 
all day. I cannot describe to you how beautiful was our 
drive back — everything so green, the foliage so 
luxuriant, the cherry-trees along the road laden with 
ripe fruit, the little ponies trotting so merrily, and 
then, at the turn of the avenue, baby in her little 
cart with such a colour and such bright eyes ; and then 
to come into the large cool rooms, with the fresh 
green all round the house and the splendid Alps 
beyond. I can assure you it did make one's heart full 
of thankfulness. Unfortunately C. is so busy with all 
this Garibaldi affair ^ that he has hardly time to look 
about him. 

This is the day of the Statuto, and we had promised 
to be at the Ducal Palace by half-past nine in the 
morning, to see the review from Mdlle. A.'s windows, 
but it poured rain and we had to give it up. In the 
afternoon the weather was better, and I had a good 
walk on a kind of terrace which runs parallel with our 
avenue on the outside. I can read as I pace up and 
down, or enjoy the view of the mountains. The only 
drawback is being obliged to keep a sharp look out for 
snakes. Th. narrowly escaped treading on a viper 
when he was here, and various harmless serpents make 
their appearance occasionally. 

By the way, our apartment in the Piazza Bodoni is 
let at last to three Neapolitan deputies. They were in 
such a hurry to get into it that they slept there the 
same evening without its being cleaned or anything 
done to it ! They have sent a whole list of things 
they want, but as they have only taken the place for 

^ Probably the beginning of the march on Rome which was 
stopped at Aspromonte, where Garibaldi was wounded and taken 
prisoner by the Italian troops. 



TURIN 167 

a month (it is uncertain how long the Chamber will 
sit) I do not feel inclined to go to much expense. 
There are lots of things missing here that nobody 
dreams of giving us. 

I wish you could imagine how beautiful the Alps 
looked this morning without a cloud on the whole 
range ; indeed, all the world looked bright and charm- 
ing as we set off at eight o'clock with the ponies for a 
drive to Moncalieri, to buy oats for the said ponies. We 
were in no particular hurry, so we first went up the hill 
to the chateau to see the splendid view from the stately 
terrace. I We then drove down through the picturesque 
old town and went into the ancient Gothic church, 
both agreeing that this bit of sight-seeing reminded us 
of our travels. Afterwards we bought the oats for the 
ponies and some apricots for ourselves, and returned 
with the great sack under our feet, enjoying the whole 
expedition extremely. Now it is very warm, and I 
pity poor C. at the Legation in town ; however, the use- 
ful little ponies have gone to fetch him, and will soon 
trot him up the hill as merrily as if they had not been 
to Moncalieri this morning. 

Thanks for Tocqueville ; C. is reading it in the even- July 9. 
ing. We have plenty of books just now. Mrs. Cadogan 
lent me " East Lynne," which is very interesting ; then 
Mr. Marsh has sent me his lectures on the English 
language, which I am afraid he expects me to read. 

The recognition of the kingdom of Italy by Russia 
and Prussia has been rather an event. As for Prussia, 
it has been done at the last moment de mauvaise grdce^ 
when there is a disreputable Ministry here, which it 

^ The Chateau of Moncalieri is one oi the royal residences near 
Turin; in 1862 it was inhabited by the children of King Victor 
Emanuel, with leiir maison coeducation. 



i68 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

will, of course, tend to strengthen, so no one is much 
obliged for it. 

The marriage of the King's youngest daughter, 
Madame Marie, to the King of Portugal, is to take 
place in the autumn, it is said, but nobody seems to 
know anything about the arrangements. 

I have planned my life here very pleasantly. After 
breakfast C. goes off to Turin with a great white 
umbrella, and I settle myself with books and work at 
one end of our long avenue. The chestnut-trees are 
cut into a regular arch at the top, and high hedges grow 
between the stems of the trees, with only an opening 
here and there. It is so fresh and dark and cool, 
like a long gallery, or rather the aisle of a church, 
and one is safe from both sun and wind. 

As C. came out of the club yesterday he threw a 
little box or ^crin into my lap, saying, " There is a 
present from Austria ! " I opened and beheld, to my 
delight, a beautiful Order, Die eiserne Krone ! (the iron 
crown). So it has come at last, quite unexpectedly, as 
a surprise. Brassier has got une tabatiere en brillants at 
which he grumbles. S. has the eiserne Krone^ too, and 
is delighted. He has explained its advantages to me, 
and says it confers hereditary nobility in Austria. As 
it is his first decoration he rather fusses over it, and 
wears it in the Chancellerie " pour faire plaisir a 
Bunsen ! " 

The Neapolitan deputies are staying on at Piazza 
Bodoni, which is satisfactory. 

The villa below ours has been taken by Mr. and 
Mrs. Gallenga. He is a deputy at the Italian Parlia- 
ment, and curiously enough, also the Times corre- 
spondent at Turin. It seems that during a long 
exile in England he learnt to write English so remark- 



TURIN 169 

ably well that his articles on Italian affairs are quite an 
important feature in the paper. Mrs. Gallenga is an 
Englishwoman and seems most agreeable ; they have 
two children, their little girl just the same age as B. 
We hope they will be a ressource, as they are our 
nearest neighbours. 



CHAPTER VIII 

Meet Gallengas — Excursion to Verzuolo and Busca — Servants' ball 
— Royal Library — Court concert — Marriage of Princess Maria 
Pia to King of Portugal — Excursion to Chieri and Santena. 

MR. GALLENGA brings me up the Times before 
breakfast, and has promised me all kinds of 
books and reviews. He is very clever, but odd. 
However, C. and he talk and discuss Garibaldi, &c., 
which is, of course, the burning question of the 
moment ! Poor Garibaldi ; he is no favourite with 
diplomatists, and it must be allowed that he has a 
disconcerting way of marching, or rather charging, 
through all the carefully considered arrangements 
of their Conferences and Congresses, and cutting 
the Gordian knot in his own way ! The misfor- 
tune is that he is not gifted with political tact, and 
cannot see that, although his wonderful conquest of the 
Two Sicilies was possible in a time of general confusion, 
just after a war that had changed the face of the whole 
country, one cannot repeat that sort of thing in quiet 
and orderly times. Happily, the Italians in general 
have a feeling for political possibilities, and his cry or 
" Roma o Morte ! " does not seem to have found much 
echo so far ; they say also that the best of his former 
lieutenants are not with him. He is, however, so 
popular and has such a legendary reputation that he 
is sure to attract people to him, and the Government 



TURIN 171 

here are in great anxiety, for should he come to blows 
with the French garrison at Rome, the consequences 
might be most serious. The King has issued a pro- 
clamation declaring that he alone, in conjunction with 
his Ministers and Parliament, has a right to summon the 
nation to arms, and General La Marmora has been sent 
with positive orders not to allow Garibaldi to advance 
on Rome. It is a sad sort of unnecessary complication. 

We have just returned from a very pleasant excur- Aug. 23. 
sion we made with the Gallengas to the Castle of 
Verzuolo, which belonged formerly to the Marquises ot 
Saluzzo, who reigned, there as independent sovereigns. 
Mme. Gallenga kindly asked baby and nurse to dine 
and spend the day with her children, thus relieving my 
mind from a good deal of anxiety. The castle is a 
grand feudal building with great towers at the angles 
and a court inside, with an open loggia^ which must 
be a comparatively modern addition, but looks very 
picturesque. The position is magnificent, and the view 
out on the open plain, almost like the sea, is splendid. 
The approach is still guarded by a ■pont levis, and the 
castle gate is quite small in proportion to the rest of 
the building. In this gate there is a little door, so low 
that you must bend double in order to enter, and from 
above the portcullis is still suspended over your head. 
From the court you enter a large hall with a tremendous 
fireplace, hung all round with portraits of the old 
Saluzzos. Then you can wander interminably upstairs 
and downstairs, from one suite of rooms to another, 
some of them looking very much as if left exactly as 
they were in the time of the grandeur of the house of 
Saluzzo. The tapestry, with grim old figures, hangs on 
the bare brick walls, covering all sorts of queer uncanny 
doors and openings. The beds still stand with their 



172 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

more or less splendid embroidered canopies and hang- 
ings, some of them evidently the work of fair hands in 
times long gone by ; the latticed windows are in deep 
recesses in the thick walls. The castle is to be let, 
and it is such a pity it is so far from Turin ! I would 
willingly brave a few ghosts and bad nights, which I 
am afraid would be inevitable in those tapestried 
chambers, for the sake of the beautiful garden full of 
flowers, the exquisite views, and the intense picturesque- 
ness of the whole thing. The Gallengas seemed very 
much taken with it, too, but they also cannot go so far 
from town. Just as we were leaving the castle a 
violent thunderstorm came on, and we were forced to 
take refuge in the gloomy hall. There we listened to 
the roll of the thunder and watched the clouds descend- 
ing on and invading the sunny plain, gradually spread- 
ing over it and shrouding it all in grey mist. As soon 
as we could get out again, we went down the hill to 
the old church of Verzuolo, where all the Saluzzos lie 
buried in one vault, without monument or inscription 
of any kind. We then proceeded to Busca, to the 
chateau of the Marquis d'Azeglio, a modern building 
in imitation Gothic, which it would be, no doubt, easy 
to criticise and pick to pieces, but which makes a good 
effect on the whole. C. and Gallenga sent in their 
cards and we were allowed to see the house. A flight 
of steps leads up to the hall, from which you have a 
lovely view of the plain, richly dotted with old towns 
and villages, on to the Maritime Alps, where we could 
distinctly see the opening of the gorge of Pesio. The 
storm had passed away, the setting sun shone on the 
mountains, whilst the dark masses of cloud still hang- 
ing over some of them added to the beauty of the 
scene. The large hall or sa/on looked nice, with old 



TURIN 173 

furniture and quantities of books and Revues des deux 
Mondes lying on the tables ; there was also a dainty- 
lady's hat with a fox-tail in it ! As night was fast 
coming on, we set off for Busca, where both dinner and 
carriage awaited us. It was a wet and weary walk, the 
roads being drenched after the rain, but we enjoyed 
our dinner all the more for it. As the storm had made 
us lose much time, we gave up Cuneo, and returned to 
Saluzzo, where we spent a very good night in a very 
good inn. We got back to Turin this morning, 
delighted with our excursion and with our companions. 
We dine with them again this evening, as our servants 
are giving a ball, and the Gallengas thought it would 
be more convenient for us to be out of the way. This 
ball has created great excitement: we have given up the 
ground-floor rooms which we do not use ; all the 
furniture, except chairs and benches, has been cleared 
out, and old branch candelabras put up on the walls. 
Twenty people from the neighbouring villas have been 
asked, and we pay for the music, which consists of a 
barrel organ ! 

The ball turned out badly ; there was gelosia and a Aug. 24. 
fight between the servant and the cook. The latter 
insisted on showing himself to the signora — why, I don't 
know, but he came upstairs supported by two men, a 
ghastly spectacle, with a cut in his head, and his shirt 
all torn and covered with blood. I need not say that 
we were intensely disgusted ! This morning, however, 
things look less tragical. 

The Gallengas are such active people it is impossible 
to live near them without being more or less in a 
bustle ! I had long wished to see the public libraries 
at Turin, but had put it off in my own mind until W. 
should come, as Promis, the librarian, is a great friend 



174 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

of his. I happened to mention to Mme. Gallenga 
that I wanted to see the libraries at Turin, and 
she instantly proposed to fix a day for going to the 
Royal Library, as Gallenga also knows the librarian. 
Old Promis was most kind, showed us some beautiful 
drawings by old masters, some exquisite illuminated 
manuscripts, and told us that we might come there, 
read, draw, study, and do whatever we liked. Promis 
told us that though he could not let any of his books 
out of his hands, the University Library was allowed to 
lend, and promised he would write and recommend us 
to the librarian there. The next morning it was 
pouring rain, and Mme. Gallenga, after her intrepid 
fashion, wrote to propose our going into town, as it 
was a day on which one could not enjoy anything in 
the country. Accordingly we went, and it was fortu- 
nate we did so, for after Promis's note we were expected^ 
and were received with all honours. The Prefetto of 
the library came at once : " Was I Madame de Bunsen } 
They had all M. de Bunsen's works in the library, all 
of them ! Would we come to the private reading- 
room } " This we did with great alacrity, for the 
public one was pretty full, and the atmosphere in it 
what R. would call fuggy. The Prefetto was only too 
kind — he had all sorts of treasures brought for us to 
look at : missals, illuminated MSS., wonderful prints, 
Marc Antonios avant la lettre^ &c. A copy of Dante, 
illustrated by Gustave Dore, about which I had seen an 
article in the Revue des deux Mondes. It is quite won- 
derfully fine : the scenery of the "Inferno" especially 
is perfectly splendid. So we spent our rainy day most 
agreeably and carried off a number of books to read at 
home. One of them, a curious old bouquin^ with 
designs for point lace, dated 1587, made the secretary. 



TURIN 175 

who was writing down the titles, pause a little : '* C'est 
par une bien grande exception, madame, qu'on vous 
laisse emporter cela ! " The Prefetto did allow it, 
however, and gave us to understand in the most flowery 
language that the books were honoured by our reading 
them — that the University was too happy to be agree- 
able to us, &c. It was very nice, and rather funny, the 
huissiers standing up and bowing whenever we passed, 
the empressement and the compliments on all sides ! 

We feel so much having to leave our beloved Villa Sept. 21. 
Radicati. It has been sold, unfortunately, and the new 
proprietor is most anxious to get into it, so there is 
no chance of returning another year. It makes me 
quite sorrowful to look round at the great hall, and the 
old portraits and all the nice large rooms ! 

We have had quite a succession of rainy days, but 
to-day the scene is completely changed — as my maid 
said this morning, " pare un altro mondo " ; it seems 
another world. The sun is shining radiantly, the 
heaven is perfectly blue and the mountains glorious, 
though with a deep line of snow. Poor Garibaldi ! 
However, it would take too much time to talk about 
him! I 

Of course you have heard of the marriage of Madame Sept, 28. 
Marie Pia de Savoie, the youngest daughter of King 
Victor Emanuel, with the King of Portugal. As usual 
here, though it was known that the wedding was soon 
to take place, the utmost uncertainty prevailed, and no 

^ Garibaldi had made an attempt to march on Rome with some 
of his followers. The Italian army, under General La Marmora, 
was sent to prevent him. Garibaldi was surrounded and taken 
prisoner at Aspromonte, near Reggio, in Calabria, on August 20, 
1862. He was unfortunately severely wounded in the right ankle. 
He was conveyed to La Spezia with all possible care. 



176 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

one seemed to know what was to happen on the 
occasion, and if there were to be any fetes or not. 

At last, quite suddenly, an invitation came for the 
Corps diplomatique to be present at a grand concert in 
the Palace at Turin. C. and I consulted together 
about it and agreed that my going in from the country 
would be difficult to manage, but that C. ought to go. 
S. would give him a bed, and we should only have to 
send in his uniform. So it was settled. I had a few 
regrets, but, considering that our town apartment is let, 
as you know, to the Duke of Mignano^ and two 
Neapolitan deputies, and that my dresses are deposited 
at the bank, with my lace and jewels, I did not well see 
how I could go. On the day of the concert, C. and I 
went to see an exhibition of Castellani's imitations of 
old Roman and Etruscan ornaments. M. de Kleist, 
our new attache^ came with us, and I told him I was not 
going to Court that evening ; afterwards I went to see 
Mdlle. A., who had come from Stresa with the Duchess 
of Genoa's children for the wedding. She received me 
with open arms and the greatest effusion until I said I 
was not going to the concert. Then she got quite 
angry and would not listen to all my good reasons. 
" It was the silliest thing imaginable : this probably 
would be the last f^te to take place at Court till the 
marriage of the Prince of Piedmont. It would be a 
sight, for Madame Clotilde and her sister-in-law, the 
Princesse Mathilde, were to be there ; 1 should see 
them, as well as the future Queen " — in short, she drove 
me away, telling me to go and get my dress ready ! 

How this was to be done was not easy to see. It was 
nearly four in the afternoon ; I had not the receipt for 
my boxes in the bank, and not enough money with me 

' Better known as Nunziante General to the King of Naples. 



TURIN 177 

to pay for getting them out. I had no room in which 
to dress, or to unpack the boxes, supposing I should 
succeed in getting them. I had no hairdresser, and at 
that time of day it was quite hopeless trying to get my 
usual one — in short, I thought it as desperate a case 
as could well be found — and went to the bank, more 
as a proof of bonne volonte than anything else. The 
bank, however, was an Italian bank, and rose to the 
occasion. The signora wanted her diamonds for the 
fesfa at Court, of course ; that was natural. I explained 
that I had no receipt for the boxes, or papers of any 
kind, and no money. Should I know the box I wanted ? 
Yes, certainly. Then lights were sent for, and I was 
solemnly taken down into the big cellars of the building, 
where I fortunately soon came upon the long black 
trunk which contained all the desired articles. I was 
assured in the politest manner that I had only to send 
for it, and that they trusted my word entirely. Having 
once got over what had really seemed the one insur- 
mountable difficulty, I proceeded to our house, des- 
patched one messenger for the box, which I could not 
bring away with me on account of its size, another to 
the villa for my maid, with a list of things for her to 
bring, and another for a hairdresser. 

I went up to our apartment, invaded the astonished 
Duca, who was very civil, and allowed me to search for 
gloves, shoes, &c. I then went to the lady who lives on 
the first floor of our house, Comtesse Cagliano, whose 
husband is an aide-de-camp of the King's. I told her my 
story, explained about our apartment being occupied, and 
asked if it would be possible for her to allow me to 
dress with her, as she was going to the Palace. As I 
have an extremely slight acquaintance with her, I could 
not help feeling this was going rather far, but she was 

13 



178 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

most kind, and said she would dress early in order to 
leave her room for me. I unpacked the box, which 
had arrived by that time, got out the gown I wanted 
(lilac with the Mechlin lace) ; I wrote a line to C. to 
apprise him of my sudden resolution, and sent a message 
to Mdlle. A., who had offered me her room in the 
Palace. My maid just arrived in time. Mme. de 
Cagliano was dressed and put me in possession of her 
room most courteously. There were abundance ot 
toilet adjuncts, but no soap, as I discovered to my 
dismay. On making inquiries, she told me there was 
some pate of flour, which would do just as well, and 
with that I had to be content. A woman the people 
of the house got for me did my hair very well, and at 
half-past seven precisely I drove up to S.'s door. C. 
could hardly believe that I was there, and could not 
understand how I had managed, particularly how I had 
got the things out of the bank. 

The concert in itselt was not very exciting, but 
there was a good deal to see. Instead of the two or 
three melancholy chairs of state that figure on 
ordinary occasions, there was a whole row set out for 
the Hohe Herrschaften. The King came first, giving 
his arm to Madame Marie, who gained universal 
admiration by the way in which she made her entrie. 
Tall, slight, and very pale, she never lifted her eyes 
from the ground till she quitted her father's arm, and 
made a deep and most graceful courtesy, including the 
whole assembly, before taking her seat in the biggest 
chair. The Princesses Clotilde and Mathilde sat on 
each side of her, the Due d'Aoste and the Duchess of 
Genoa at the two extremities. The King stood at 
the door, as is his wont, and the Prince de Piedmont 
kept him company. Behind the Princesses a whole army 




MADAME MARIK I'lK DM sAMilK, 
QUEEN OF PORTUGAL. 



To face p. 179.] 



TURIN 179 

of ladies took up their places ; of these, the first was 
the Portuguese Duchesse of Tereira, grande maitresse 
of the future Queen. After the concert, which was 
decidedly long and dull, the grand people got up, and 
after a moment's hesitation, Madame Marie took the 
lead and went to speak to the old Marquise Spinola and 
other Court ladies ; the other Princesses dispersed in 
various directions and conversed with much condescen- 
sion. Indeed, I was rather astonished at the vigorous 
poignees de main which the Princess Mathilde and her 
brother distributed most liberally, as it seemed to me. 
As for the Prince Napoleon in Court dress, or rather in 
the Court dress he chooses to wear, he looks dreadful. 
As S. declared, it is impossible to regard him with 
indifference ; he rouses worse and more active feelings. 
Madame Clotilde has grown almost handsome, her 
bust is splendid ; she has much quiet dignity, and a 
mild serene expression which is very pleasing. Madame 
Marie used to be thought rather plain, and cer- 
tainly was so as a Backfisch in short petticoats, when 
one saw her walking in the Place d'Armes with 
her governess and Count d'Aglie in attendance. 
Now that she is a future Queen, however, she has 
come out in quite a new light. She is taller than 
her sister, very slight, and with a most graceful 
bearing ; she has a beautiful complexion, and a mass of 
hair which does not look red at night. All this, with 
her extreme youthfulness — she is only fifteen — make her 
a very striking figure en grande toilette. At the concert 
she was dressed in blue, covered with lace, and had a 
high diadem of diamonds in her hair. The Princess 
Mathilde, whose coming from Stresa was a sudden 
resolution, had a white dress with bouquets of corn- 
flowers, rather too champetre for the occasion, and an 



i8o IN THREE LEGATIONS 

enormous necklace of pearls, with so many rows that it 
sat thick on her neck and looked heavy and almost ugly. 

After the concert I did not return to the villa, 
but slept with my maid at the Piazza Bodoni, where 
they managed to give me a room on the ground-floor. 
At six in the morning I awoke from hunger, for I had 
had very little to eat the day before, and the Court 
concert was what is called in German ein trockenes 
Fergniigen (a dry amusement), for there were no 
refreshments of any kind. I had to send out for 
black coffee, the only thing to be got at that time of 
day After that the cook came from the villa for 
orders, and to report that baby had had a very good 
night. Then C. arrived with an invitation from S. for 
me to breakfast with them. This meal turned out to 
be one of the amusing parts of the proceedings ; all 
served on Japan china, S. himself making an omelette 
and presenting it on one knee ! Nothing could exceed 
his hospitality, and he had passed the night on a sofa, 
in order to give C. his own bed. After breakfast I went 
to the palace and made an unsuccessful attempt to see 
the wedding procession pass through one of the halls, 
but there was much pushing and hustling, and I got 
disgusted at a man in the crowd addressing me as 
mia cara (my dear), so gave it up. The marriage 
ceremony itself took place in the private chapel of the 
Palace, almost in secrecy, as is the Italian fashion, 
only the royal family and a few highly-favoured persons 
being present. 

I then went to choose a coiffure for an evening 
reception (which we had only heard of late the 
day before), and came out to the villa, to find baby 
flourishing and very glad to see me. After enjoying 
the country and the quiet very much for a few hours, I 



TURIN i8i 

drove into town again in time to dine with C. at the 
Cafe de Paris. This time my dressing was not such a 
scrimmage (I had on my white taffetas dress with the 
point d'Argentan and a dark red velvet coiffure with 
white feathers), and when I arrived at S.'s lodgings it 
was still so early that I went in to have a cup of coffee. 
The rooms did not look so nice as in the morning : the 
breakfast things had not been removed, there were 
remnants of food scattered on the table, and various 
masculine garments thrown on the chairs. C. was 
walking about in full uniform, his orderly mind 
evidently disapproving of the state of things. He 
looks very well in his new uniform of Legations-Rath, 
with his Prussian red eagle. He will not wear the 
order the Austrians gave him, the iron crown of Monza, 
as he thinks the Italians might not like it. We took 
up the Chief at the Legation, and his coachman most 
stupidly drove to the Palace across the Place Chateau, 
which was already illuminated and filled by a dense 
crowd. The police did open a way for our carriage, 
but we had to go at a foot's pace under a perfect storm 
of abuse, and felt glad to escape with our lives. All 
the other diplomats had gone round by some back way 
and so escaped this ordeal. An immense orchestra had 
been placed in front of the wing of the Palace which 
contains the armoury, and a grand public serenade was 
to be given to the Queen of Portugal by the Turin 
municipality. The scene from the Palace windows 
was really striking, looking down on a vast sea of heads, 
strongly illuminated on every side. It gave one almost 
a feeling of awe, from a vague consciousness, I suppose, 
of the infinite possibilities contained in that mighty mass 
of living beings. 

We passed through the state apartments, which 



1 82 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

were all brightly lighted, but nearly empty. The 
King and court had just gone through, after a grand 
gala dinner, to the long armoury gallery, at the 
end of which richly hung balconies were prepared, 
from which they were to hear the concert. We followed 
in the wake of the procession, and then began one of 
the most interesting and original evenings I have 
spent in Turin. We were all assembled in the great 
hall of the armoury, behind the balcony where the 
royalties were sitting. The scene was picturesque 
beyond description. Figures of knights and steeds in 
armour towering above us reflected the brilliant lights 
with all the arms and trophies on the walls, and formed 
a striking contrast to the modern crowd of ladies in 
bright dresses and jewels, and gentlemen in much-em- 
broidered uniforms covered with orders. Of the 
grand people on the balcony little could be seen, 
except the pale face and high diamond crown of the 
young Queen as she turned from time to time. She 
looked very tired, but she never left her place, and was 
greeted with deafening applause each time that she 
stood up and showed herself to the multitudes below. 
The other royalties came and went with cloaks and 
burnous over their grand dresses, and formed a small 
circle with their ladies, the Corps diplomatique, and 
some of the Court here. As there was no one present 
except the Ministers and the Grandes charges de Cour, 
one could really appreciate the advantages of the 
diplomatic position which admitted one to such a unique 
and beautiful scene. Stackelberg we were all glad to 
see again, I Gerebsow also ; it reminded one of old 
times. Count Gattinara, one of the chamberlains, came 

^ After the recognition of the kingdom of Italy by Russia, 
Comte Stackelberg had returned to Turin. 



TURIN 183 

up quite affectionately and presented me with a little 
bonhonniere he had taken from the royal table. I shall 
keep it as a souvenir, and really felt quite kindly to 
him, and interested in his jabot of point d'Alen^on. 
In the course of the evening the Duchess of Genoa 
talked to me for quite a long time about Mdlle. A., 
whom she was so glad to have for " Marguerite," &c. 
The concert was drawing near its close when we were 
told the Queen would receive us immediately after- 
wards, and we all hurried down the long gallery of 
the armoury to a pretty little salon^ which was the 
place chosen for the ceremony. After a good deal of 
confusion, nobody seeming to know exactly what was 
to be done, the ladies got into a row, with Mme. 
Benedetti at the head, and the gentlemen stood in 
a crowd behind. Soon the procession was heard 
approaching, but as Breme, the grand maitre des 
ceremonies^ and all the others came to the door of the 
room, they filed off, remaining outside, as they had now 
nothing to do with the Queen of Portugal. M. de 
Castro, the Portuguese Minister, preceded the young 
Queen, who, after a moment's hesitation, entered alone 
very gracefully. She had on her couronne fermee in 
diamonds, a present sent her by her husband, a regular 
high crown, very elegant in design, and interlaced with 
orange flowers. As she had been sitting in the open 
balcony, she had a plain white burnous folded round 
her, and one only saw the skirt of her silver spotted 
dress. She spoke to each of the ladies, pausing before 
each one and speaking very low. Then she took her 
stand in the middle of the room and Sir James Hudson, 
as doyen^ presented all the *' Chefs de Mission, par 
ordre d'anciennete," each chief in turn presenting the 
gentlemen of his Legation. Thus C. was the second 



i84 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

who made his bow. I thought as she stood, her head 
slightly bent as though the crown weighed it down, 
that she looked like some of the mediaeval Madonnas 
the old masters used to paint with wondrous diadems. 
She was unlike any figure in everyday life, and one 
could not help feeling interested in one so young, on 
the eve of leaving all she had known and loved till 
now, to go to a strange land and an unknown bride- 
groom. The Portuguese allow no one to go with her 
of all her household but Mme. de Villamarina, who has 
brought her up. 

As soon as the Queen had spoken to two or 
three ladies (we were but five in all) the Princess 
Clotilde began her tournee^ and the little con- 
versation I had with her, though nothing very won- 
derful, was more to the point than the one or two 
observations of the poor tired little Queen. I like 
Mme. Clotilde very much ; she has a kind expression, 
and something serene and thoughtful. All the ladies 
here declare she is a saint. When the last charge 
d'affaires had made his bow the King, who had been 
talking danseuses with Kleist, who, as a new arrival, had 
just been presented to him by Brassier, gave his arm 
once more to his daughter and walked off, all the altesses 
imperiales et royales following, bowing right and left, 
and we curtseying our best, and so it ended. C, who 
has been, as he says, " disturbed in his little comforts," 
did not enjoy it quite as much as I did, but I am very 
glad that we went and saw it all. Now we are quite 
pleased to be quiet again, to sleep in our own beds and 
enjoy the baby. The poor little Queen had a bad 
night — it seems her crown was so heavy it quite hurt 
her and they were obliged to apply ice to her head for 
several hours. 



TURIN 185 

She left for Genoa, where she was to be formally Sept. 29. 
handed over to her new entourage. Mme. d'Aglie 
described the ceremony, which is called " La remise 
de la Reine." One of the rooms in the Genoa Palace 
was solemnly declared neutral ground — all the Pied- 
montese suite were ranged on one side, all the 
Portuguese on the other. The Queen took leave of 
her former household, who were sobbing and kissing 
her hands, and was led by de Castro to the other end 
of the room, where she was received by her new court. 
She is said to have gone through this ordeal with 
composure, and to have borne all the partings better 
than was expected. She took leave of her cousin, 
little Madame Marguerite, very quietly : " Ciao, Mar- 
gheritina," just as though she were going for a drive. 
Mme. d'Aglie was very proud of her share in the 
proceedings before the wedding. She, it seems, recom- 
mended to Madame Marie a new way of doing her hair, 
which she had seen in a photograph. It was tried on 
the Princess with great success, and was one of the 
elements of the change in her appearance that sur- 
prised every one so agreeably. We heard all this at 
Stupinigi, where we went to breakfast with the 
d'Aglies, who were, of course, still quite full of the 
marriage of their Princess. The King has given Mme. 
d'Aglie an apartment for the summer at Stupinigi, 
which is, as you know, a royal hunting palace, and 
they are very comfortably established there. We 
walked about the grounds, and saw the palace, where 
Mme. d'Aglie had often stayed when she was dame 
d^honneur to the late Queen of Piedmont. I forget if 
it was there, or in another palace near Turin, that a 
sort of lift had been arranged to go up to the Queen's 
apartment, which was on the second floor. The 



i86 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

machinery of this lift, which was very unwieldy, got out 
of order, and one day, when the two Queens (mother 
and wife of the King) were being hoisted up with 
their two ladies (Mme. d'Aglie and her mother, Mme. 
de Boyl), it suddenly broke, and they were precipitated 
into the cellar. No one was injured, though the 
shock was so violent that all their hair-pins fell 
out ! Finally, we only reached home at five o'clock, 
having spent quite a long time with them. 

I hope you see the Times, and that you have read 
an article on the marriage of the Queen of Portugal, 
which Gallenga calls my article, because it was almost 
entirely written from our accounts. 

Oct. i8. We are all going on very pleasantly here, making 

excursions when the weather permits. The other day 
we went to Chieri with the ponies. It was a good 
long way for them to go, but they trotted along quite 
cheerily, like the brave little things they are, and we 
enjoyed the drive immensely. The weather was 
splendid, and it was quite a new sensation to pass 
the ridge of the coUine which had till then been 
always a kind of boundary, and to look down on the 
broad plain on the other side, encircled by the Apen- 
nines, and so much more southern-looking than ours. 
Chieri is a picturesque place enough, and we had 
dinner in an old palazzo that has been made into an 
hotel. It was market-day, and the room was full of 
people, all eating. Different sets of musicians suc- 
ceeded each other during the whole meal, and as soon 
as they struck up a waltz or a polka some of the 
company got up and danced till they were forced 
to sit down again from sheer exhaustion ! It was an 
amusing scene, and the people were all very civil. 



TURIN 187 

From Chleri we went on to Santena, as we wanted 
to see the place where Cavour lies buried by his own 
wish in his family vault. The King had wanted to 
give him a grand funeral at the Superga, but had to 
give way to what was known to be Cavour's desire. 
The Chateau de Cavour at Santena is an odd mixture 
of pomp and grandeur, dirt and discomfort. The 
family vault is above ground, like a somewhat gloomy 
chapel, just at the back of the house, in the courtyard 
which separates it from the village. I never saw a 
more unsecluded place of burial, or one so mixed up 
with all the routine of everyday life ! The Marquises 
de Cavour were not like Abraham, and certainly did 
not wish to bury their dead out of their sight ! 
Workmen were painting and working at the inside 
of the vault, and the whole effect was anything but 
solemn. It is arranged on the plan of the catacombs, 
with niches along the walls, those still unoccupied 
being left open, like shelves. There was a fresh 
bouquet of flowers on the top of the niche where 
lie the remains of Camillo de Cavour, and we were 
told that numbers come on a sort of pilgrimage to 
Santena to see his tomb. The park at Santena is fine, 
and we walked there in the light of the setting sun, 
but I did not like the place. Amongst other things, 
we were shown a fine dining-room — a recent addition 
to the house — preceded by a kind of gallery full of 
flowers, which must be quite pretty when well arranged. 
This, the old gardener told us, was the state dining- 
room when the " Signor Conte " brought the Ministers 
and grand people from Turin. But, we asked, how 
did they get in ? for the only entrance we could see to 
both gallery and dining-room was through Cavour's 
own bedroom. Is there no other door ? Oh ! no, 



i88 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

said the old man, the " Signor Conte " did not mind 
people passing through his room ! 

It was all interesting, of course ; but it was disap- 
pointing, and did not seem at all appropriate or 
satisfactory ! As one thought of the wonders Cavour 
had achieved for his country, and of the passionate 
and universal grief which followed him to his grave, 
one could have wished for some outward expression ot 
all that feeling and of the love and gratitude of Italy. 
Something more than the walled-up niche and the 
bunch of flowers ! 

I think the Superga would have suited him better. 
Turin, y^^ writes from Smyrna he hopes to be here on 

the loth. I only feel so provoked at having left 
the villa with all its abundant rooms, just before his 
arrival, and not to be able even to offer him a bed ! 
Otherwise I am quite pleased to be settled again at Piazza 
Bodoni in our snug little abode. Our ex-locataire^ the 
Duca de Mignano, has kept things pretty tidy, and the 
apartment does not seem to have suffered at all by his 
occupation this summer. 




WILLIAM HENRY WADDINGTON, AFTERWARDS PRIME 
MINISTER IN FRANCE, AND TEN YEARS FRENCH 
AMBASSADOR IN LONDON. 



To face p. i8S.] 



FLORENCE 



CHAPTER IX 

Change of capital to Florence — Riots in Turin — Villa d'Ormea — 
Return to Turin — General La Marmora — Usedom's absence — 
Debate in Chamber — The Elliots' ball — Good reception of 
the King in Turin — C. goes to Synod at Latour — Viareggio. 

THE transfer of the capital from Turin to Florence, 
which came upon us all so unexpectedly in the 
autumn of 1864, was the result of a Convention 
between the Emperor Napoleon and the Italian 
Government, with a view to the withdrawal of the 
French troops which still garrisoned Rome. By a 
sort of tacit understanding it was supposed that this 
was a step towards Rome becoming ultimately the 
capital of Italy, and in that hope Victor Emanuel 
and his councillors agreed to it. It was with real 
regret that the King left Turin, the city of his 
birth, to which he was much attached, and where he 
certainly felt more at home than in any part of his new 
dominions. It was generally acknowledged, moreover, 
that this removal of the capital was a poor return for 
all that Piedmont had done and sacrificed in the cause 
of Italian independence. ^ 

The population of Turin was, not unnaturally, 
incensed at the measure, and disturbances occurred. 
The troops had to be called out, and the measures 
of repression w.re so badly managed that the soldiers 

^ " La pire des ingratitudes, si ce n'est la pire des imprudences," 
as was said at the time. 

191 



192 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

were said to have fired on each other. Blood was 
shed, unfortunately, and the outcry was so great that 
the Minghetti Ministry fell. 

Some forty thousand people migrated at one time 
from Piedmont to Tuscany — the Court, the Corps 
diplomatique, the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies, all 
the Ministeres, with clerks and employes innumerable. 
Florence was by no means prepared for this sudden 
increase of population. Lodgings were almost impos- 
sible to be had, prices went up with a bound, and the 
newcomers were anything but popular. Oar Chief 
was then Count Usedom, who had succeeded Count 
Brassier de St. Simon. He had an English wife, well 
known in the world of that time by her loud voice 
and eccentric ways. My husband's colleagues were 
Count C, and Count O. Donhoff and the Baron von 
Brinken. 

We had spent the summer at the Villa d'Ormea, on 
the Colline, rather further from town than our beloved 
Radicati, and on a smaller scale, but commanding the 
same magnificent view of the whole chain of distant 
Alps and the plain of Turin. We had just taken a new 
apartment for three years in town and were looking 
forward to establishing ourselves comfortably for the 
winter, when we were startled by the news of the 
change of the capital from Turin to Florence. 



Sept. i8. What do you say to this news of the capital being 
changed from Turin to Florence.? C. came home in 
great excitement yesterday evening. Usedom is said toj 
have embraced the first person who told him of it, and] 
there seems to be general rejoicing amongst the Corps] 
diplomatique. Only those who, like us, have an apart-] 



FLORENCE 193 

ment on their hands look less triumphant ! Fancy, 
the Sackens, who have passed all the summer at a 
hotel, have just taken an apartment which costs them 
18,000 frs. a year ! 

This is only a line to reassure you. There have been Viiia 
riots in Turin about the change of capital, and blood sept. 23 ' 
has been shed unfortunately ! Everything was quiet 
during the day, but in the evening bodies of work- 
people from the manufactories paraded the streets and 
hissed the troops. By some mistake, the Carabiniere 
seem to have fired on the soldiers in Piazza San Carlo, 
and these, thihking they were attacked, returned the 
fire and twenty-seven people were killed. The Colonel 
of the 17th Regiment fell with five soldiers, and there 
are said to be fifty or sixty wounded. It is dread- 
fully sad. 

Turin is quite quiet again outwardly^ but there is an Villa 
immense deal of excitement still going on, and the sept. 29.' 
general expectation seems to be that there will be more 
disturbances when the Chambers meet. 

The proprietor of our new town apartment has not 
allowed himself to be influenced in any way by the 
change of circumstances, and we still have it for three 
years ! 

Beatrice is playing in the garden with the little 
d'Ormea and the other children, talking away in 
Piedmontese. She spoke of going to Moncalet^ as they 
say here, instead of Moncalieri, the other day, and even 
came out, to my horror, with a distinct contatch, a gros 
iuron^ the meaning of which I have never been able to 
understand. One comfort of going to Florence is that 
she will learn the best Italian there naturally. Have 
you read " Henry Dunbar } " — quite the best sensational 
novel I know. 

14 



194 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

Turin, At last, after four days of unpacking and settling, I 

can sit down to write with some degree of comfort. 
Our diminagement has been got through under difficul- 
ties. We put it off day after day on account of the 
pouring rain, and when we did start on Tuesday, the 
rain came down again and accompanied us to town ! 
C. stayed away from the Chancellerie for two days to 
help, but found such an accumulation of business when 
he returned there that he has been unable to come 
since. One day, when he had promised to come back 
at three o'clock, he only returned to show me a letter 
from the Ministere here, saying General La Marmora 
wanted to speak to Count Usedom on urgent business, 
and should he be prevented, begged M. de Bunsen to 
take his place. Usedom being at Florence was pre- 
vented, and C. had to rush off. La Marmora, who 
knows him from former times, was most kind. As C. 
was taking leave ceremoniously, as behoved him, the 
General said : " Ne me faites done pas tant de saluts, 
nous sommes de vieux amis ; donnez-moi la main." 

Yesterday I saw the Duchess of Genoa and Madame 
Marguerite driving in from the railway. They had the 
red piqueur before them, a sign of royalty, but not one 
man in the crowded street took off his hat ! I never saw 
such a thing in Turin before. The King's popularity 
here has quite gone, and people begin to criticise 
his private character-bitterly. That is certainly his very 
weak side, but nobody here ever thought of finding 
fault before. It is the Convention of September which 
has suddenly opened their eyes to all his faults ! 

We have all been in a state of mind about Usedom's 
continued absence. C. and Donhoff have been really 
risking a good deal to shield him and are determined to 
do so no more. It is a bore that there must be always 




MAR(IU1SE DE BOVL. 



To face p. 195.] 



FLORENCE 195 

something wrong with one's Chief, but apparently they 
are not nearer perfection than the rest of humanity ! 

After many visits and a good deal of noise and con- Christ- 
fusion, the quiet of the church was delightful. Meille 
preached splendidly. I shall much regret him and the 
church here. Besides, at present, one hears of nothing 
but the disadvantages of Florence, the inundations, the 
miliaria fever, &c. 

Our New Year's reception at the Duchess of Genoa's Jan. 10, 
seems quite an old story now. The most amusing part 
of the whole thing really was B.'s surprise when I came 
home, as she had never seen me in full dress before. 
She was much astonished. " Oh maman, petite plume 
dans cheveux ! " And before going to bed she declared 
her intention of having a " petite plume dans cheveux 
quand Beatrice sera grande ! " 

She is in a particularly happy vein at present, chat- 
tering continually. She went to the Palace the other 
day, *' Aller voir Pincesse Marguerite," as she says, and 
came back well pleased with her expedition. I wish you 
could hear her, when she is surprised at anything, say : 
" Oh ! Beatrice tres 'tonnee," instead of etonnee ; it 
sounds so funny. 

I went to the Chamber, as Usedom had told me Turin, 
that a stormy debate about the events of September 
was expected. However, Ricasoli had proposed an 
ordre du jour avoiding discussion on the past, and 
all ended quietly. Brofferio made a violent speech 
against the former Ministers, all stragi and sangue 
(blood and massacres) and was much applauded by 
the public tribunes, which were crowded. Mme. 
de Boyl, who was in the loge diplomatique and had 
come to see her revenge^ was also quite in favour of 
Brofferio. Minghetti spoke very well, saying in a 



196 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

few indignant words that giving up the inquiry was 
the greatest sacrifice he and his colleagues could 
make, but when asked to do so "in nome d'ltalia" 
(in the name of Italy) they could not refuse. 

Rora spoke in very bad Italian and so confusedly 
that no one seemed to know what he meant. Altogether 
it was interesting, though dreadfully warm, and I 
went off with poor Mme. de Boyl, who was ex- 
tremely disgusted at all being hushed up and being 
balked of a lively debate and of the satisfaction of 
hearing her enemies well abused. Of course, these 
changes are very hard on old Piedmontese families 
who have lived at Court all their lives, and looked on 
most of the places there as belonging to them by a 
sort of hereditary right. That will be different now, 
as the Court will be mostly at Florence in the future, 
and they will have suddenly to make way for new 
people from all parts of Italy with fresh and con- 
tending claims. Both Mme. de Boyl and her daughter 
were ladies to the former Queens here, and the 
" relations " between them must have been most 
amicable and agreeable, for, as Mme. d'Aglie told 
me once, " I'honneur etait bien des deux cotes." 
One cannot wonder at their feeling and resenting 
deeply this sudden change. 

On Friday I went to the Elliots' ball with Mme. 
Pianelli, the wife of the General in command here. He, 
Pianelli, was detained on account of the emeutiers^ 
waiting to hear they had been dispersed, to allow 
the poor soldiers, who were all ready under arms 
inside their barracks, to go to bed. That night the 
mob returned three times to the Palace, shouting 
" Morte al Re ! Abasso Vittorio ! Abasso Casa di 
Savoia ! " Madame Marguerite and Mdlle. A. heard 



FLORENCE 197 

them quite distinctly from their windows. Mdlle. A. 
took it very calmly. " C'est une tres bonne le^on pour 
une jeune princesse, cela lui montrera ce que vaut la 
popularite des princes." There was a dreadful crowd 
at the Elliots — ladies' dresses torn in every direction ; 
the heau Prussien (Count C. DonhofF) led the cotillon. 

We went to the Osten Sackens' to see the King's Turin, 

° Feb. 28. 

return to Turin, after his absence of nearly a month. 
Opinions were rather divided as to the warmth of 
his reception in different parts of the town, but at 
the Reggio that evening there could be no sort of 
uncertainty. The house was illuminated a giorno, 
and the King was enthusiastically greeted — obliged to 
bow and show himself again and again. It was a 
long time before we could sit down, and the same 
thing took place when he • went away, directly after 
the ballet. The reconciliation between Vittorio and 
the Turinese is quite a weight off one's mind ; 
the people have come to their senses again and 
shown themselves once more worthy of their reputa- 
tion for loyalty and patriotism. The carnaval has 
gone off beautifully : it never was so brilliant, the 
King driving in the " Corso di Gala," a thing he 
never did before, and acclaimed everywhere ; the 
weather also is splendid, quite spring-like. 

I am sending you a paper with a capital drawing 
of the meeting between Vittorio and Giandouja, who 
is the popular personification of the Piedmontese. 
The scene was really enacted in the Piazza San Carlo 
on Monday last. Quite an ordinary mask came up 
to the King's carriage in the Corso, and after talking 
to him for some time, held out his hand, saying in 
broad Piedmontese, " Toe la li " (Touch it then), and 
the King shook hands with him. 



198 



IN THREE LEGATIONS 



Mme. de Boyl was one of the first to meet the 
King at the railway station on his return ; he came 
up to shake hands with her, and said, " Cerea ama- 
bilissima Marchesa " {Cerea is the habitual greeting in 
society here of those who do not " thee " and " thou " 
each other), and her loyalty has now returned with 
double force. On Friday I went to Mdlle. A., who 
is in very low spirits because there seems no prospect 
of the Duchess of Genoa and her children going to 
Florence. While she was pouring out her grievances, 
the door of the inner drawing-room opened, and 
Madame Marguerite put in her tete blonde. Seeing 
we were alone, she came quite in, and joined in the 
chat about the dresses at Mrs. Elliot's party, appa- 
rently knowing all the people by name, although 
she can only have seen most of them from far at the 
Place d'Armes. She is rather shy and reserved at 
first, but that soon passes away, and she sits on 
the arm of a chair or jumps about examining my 
things. Then suddenly, on taking leave, she makes 
a stately curtsey and relapses into the Royal Princess 
again. 

I am writing to you on Sunday. The room is 
full of lilac and lilies of the valley, brought from 
the Villa d'Ormea, and the roses on the balcony 
are in full bud. Altogether it looks very pretty, 
and I feel quite sorry at the idea of leaving so soon. 
B. is just talking of " la journee quand nous partons 
pour Florence " ; she has picked up the idea from 
hearing us speak of it. 

Mr. Elliot, whom we saw the other day, gave a 
very cheerful account of Florence, and said the diffi- 
culties there had been much exaggerated. He at 
least had found a house very easily. The Tottenhams 



FLORENCE 199 

have also taken a ground floor in a beautiful old 
villa at Bellosguardo. 

Everybody is going or gone ! C. goes next week JL"""' 
to the Synod at Latour, and after that we must 
begin our packing in good earnest. It will be a 
terrific affair, as everything here belongs to us and 
we have no hired furniture of any sort to fall back 
upon in the last days. We intend going to Via- 
reggio for sea-bathing, and going to Florence from 
thence to see about apartments. 

Our stay at Viareggio lasted till the summer was 
nearly over and it was time to begin seriously to 
look for an abode in Florence. 

Saturday last I went to Florence to look at via- 
apartments with C. We saw various ones, which I Aug. 17. 
need not describe, as he has since taken another 
which he had not then seen. We ended by going 
to the Legation, where we found Mme. d'Usedom in 
great excitement, as usual : " My dear, you are faint- 
ing — of course you are ! That husband of yours 
wouldn't let me have luncheon for you. What can I 
give you to eat .f* Here is some preserved mock-turtle 
soup of Usedom's — the very thing ! Giovanni ! 
Giovanni ! " The mock-turtle was boiled or cooked 
in some way, and forced down my throat mixed 
with some beef-tea. " It is not the authentic thing, 
my dear, but it will be all the more nourishing ! " 
and, indeed, it revived me wonderfully, for I had 
had no time for eating. We set off again, only 
looking in for a moment at Brinken en Chancelleries and 
I got back here for the night. 



CHAPTER X 

Florence — Comtesse Usedom — Meet Layard — Our party — Dinner 
given by Minister of Baden for Prince of Wied — Dinner at 
Villa Capponi. 

Florence, YYTE arrived from Viareggio early, as we got up 
1865.' ' VV at five to avoid the heat and drove at once 
to our new quarters here, which are very nice. To 
the left we have a lovely view of the Ponte Vecchio, 
and see all down the Arno to the Cascine on the 
right. Opposite is the campanile of San Giacomo 
and some picturesque old houses. We had hardly 
been two hours in Florence when Mme. d'Usedom 
arrived, full of kind proposals, saying that we were 
not to call at the Villa Capponi,^ but to dine there 
next day, Mdlle. A., who is still with us, B. and all. 
People may speak against the Chefesse — and heaven 
knows they do — but till now I have found her most 
kind and hospitable. Life here seems to be one of 
perpetual enjoyment (excepting unpacking, going 
through inventories, and such-like occupations) ; 
every step you take in the town is full of interest 
and pleasure. 

^ Besides the offices for the Legation, in an old palace in the 
town, the Usedoms had taken the splendid Villa Capponi, situated 
on the hills under Fiesole. It was an ideal residence, with complete 
summer and winter apartments, and beautiful views on all sides ; but 
the distance from Florence was a drawback, and especially in bad 
weather complicated things a good deal. 



FLORENCE 201 

Last week a courier arrived from Alessandria, and Oct. 2. 
C, who is charge d'affaires^ had rather a remarkable 
conversation with him. " Had he passed through 
Paris ? " " No, his orders were to come direct to 
Florence, and to bring his despatch to ' Euer Hoch- 
wohlgeboren.' " " Was he going on to Rome ? " 
" No, he was to await Euer Hochwohlgeboren's 
pleasure at Florence and take back the answer." It 
was the first time C. had had a courier all to him- 
self with a despatch from the " terrible minister," as 
the Revue des deux Mondes calls M. de Bismarck, 
and he felt the importance of the occasion. Mean- 
time Comtesse Usedom had asked us all to dinner at 
Capponi. The courier was there too, for as La Mar- 
mora is with the King at the camp at Somma, C. 
could not see him yet, and Freiherr von Huene is 
enjoying himself at Florence. He is nice, with an 
honest sun-burnt face and an abundance of fair 
moustache and hair. He is quite wild with admira- 
tion of Italy and Florence, and looked as though 
he thought Capponi like a dream that evening, and 
it certainly seemed a very pretty bit of fairyland, 
to say the least — Hildegarde with her beautiful hair 
floating on her shoulders, the Comtesse in pearls and 
diamonds and an exquisite dress from Barennes, the 
beautiful rooms all lighted, and then the high terrace 
with the view of Florence. I must say I always 
enjoy going to Capponi : it is one of the prettiest 
sights I know. In the course of the evening Mme. 
d' Usedom called out to me, " My dear, I go to the 
French theatre to-morrow. It is the opening night ; 
you will come with me, of course." " Comtesse ! " 
Then turning to C, "We don't want you if you are 
busy ; M. de Brinken will accompany us." "Com- 



202 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

tesse, with pleasure," and you may imagine Brinken 
answering selon les regies de Vurhanite Fran^aise^ 
although he knows in his own mind he would rather go 
comfortably in his stalle with the jeune diplomatie 
than play the part of chambellan de service^ carry 
the shawls, see that the carriage is there, and last, not 
least, take an occasional turn in the corridor, possibly 
at the most interesting part of the play, if it so happens 
that two Ministres plenipotentiaires should invade the 
small box at the same time. Notwithstanding all this, 
we found him pacing up and down before the club at 
the appointed hour, and we passed a very pleasant 
evening. When the Comtesse brought me home at 
twelve, I found C. just setting about his tea. He had 
had a snooze and the lamp had gone out, and Herries, 
the English charge d'affaires had come in in the dark, 
and altogether he seemed decidedly in want of some- 
one to look after him. 

We had to go to Villa Capponi, where there was 
a dinner — only the Legation and Count Vitzthum, 
Saxon Minister in London. 

Count Vitzthum absolutely raves about Madame 
Marguerite, whom he has just seen at Stresa. He 
says he has entirely lost his heart to her, and that 
it is long since he has seen anything like such a 
lovely and graceful apparition ! I wrote the praises 
of the dear Princess to Mdlle. A., who, it seems, sent 
on my letter to the Duchess of Genoa. She now sends 
me in return an autograph note from H.R.H. thanking 
Mdlle. A. for the communication. 

On our return from Capponi we went to the Sackens', 
who had a very brilliant soiree with the Apponyis, &c. 
I met there M. le Sourd, of the French Legation, who 
told me he had been staying at the de Courval's, in the 




MADAME MARGUERITE DE SAVOIE. 



To face' p. 202.] 



FLORENCE 203 

Departement de I'Aisne, and complimented me on W.'s 
candidature. " Comme employe du gouvernement, 
madame, vous comprenez que je ne pouvais faire 
des vceux pour M. votre frere, je sais qu'il n'a pas 
reussi, mais j'entendais parler de sa candidature comme 
fort serieuse." 

The next day was the opening of the Pergola, and I 
was not quite pleased with Mme. d'Usedom for not 
asking me to go with her. It is not that I by any 
means imagine that I am to be a fixture in her box, 
but on a first night Legations go together, as far as I 
have observed. Be that as it may, she did not ask me, 
and I was determined to go, if possible, to show that 
I was independent of her in that respect. So I went 
with Mme. Pettiti, the wife of the Minister of War, 
who has lately taken a fancy to me. Mme. de Sacken 
asked me also, which I should have preferred, but I 
was already engaged to the Pettiti. After all, it was 
nothing very particular. " Robert le Diable " was 
given ; the singing second-rate. The Florence ladies do 
not all go in full dress to the opera, as was the rule at 
Turin. One quite missed the splendid row of boxes 
all round the house filled with women in low dresses, 
many of them well-known beauties, which always made 
such an impression on any one seeing the Reggio for 
the first time. Excepting General Pettiti himself, 
who is extremely nice and gentlemanly, we had only 
old fogies in the box, and now that I have seen the 
Pergola I am in no hurry to go again ! 

The only amusing incident was the visit of the 
King to the Grande Duchesse Marie of Russia, who, 
with her daughter, occupied the Osten Sackens' box. 
The Sacken's " avait depose leur loge a ses pieds," 
and she was graciously pleased to make use of it. 



204 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

The Sackens themselves were almost on the point 
of not having one at all, so it was as well I had 
not agreed to go with them. We were watching 
all the Russians faisant leur cour to the Grand 
Duchess, when suddenly the box was cleared as it 
by magic. The Grand Duchess and her daughter 
rose, and the King walked in ! The Piedmontese 
in our box would not believe it ; never had His 
Majesty left his box at the opera ; it was impos- 
sible ! Their opera-glasses soon convinced them, 
however, that such was actually the case. It was 
amusing to watch the poor little Princess, who 
seemed positively turned to stone, and sat bolt up- 
right, turning neither to right or left, the whole time 
His Majesty's visit lasted. 
Florence, \ could tell vou mucli that is amusing if I had 

Nov. 12. •'. ° 

only time to write properly. Indeed, I hardly know 
where to begin. It was some time about the end ot 
last week that we began to feel under the necessity of 
giving a small party. It was, moreover, evident that 
the sooner we gave it the better, that we might still 
have the credit of bringing people together who 
would soon probably be making acquaintance in 
some other way. C. was, as usual, very reluctant, 
but with Brinken's assistance he was got to see the 
matter in a proper light, and it was decided that a 
party there should be. First of all, however, Mrs. 
Hardman had one, and invited us to meet Layard, 
who is at Florence just now. She wrote, " He says 
he is a far-away cousin of yours ! " So he is, of C.'s, 
in some intricate way. I was very glad to see Layard 
again. His hair and beard are changing rapidly to 
white and grey, and he is more than ever like one of 
his own Nineveh bulls, with a grand, strong expres- 



FLORENCE 205 

sion — not the sort of head you often see. I did not 
get much of him at Mrs. Hardman's, but C. talked 
with him a good deal. I wasted some time in trying 
to explain to the beau Prussien (our colleague, Count 
C. DonhofF) who Layard was, but he had never heard 
of the excavations of Nineveh, nor of the Arundel 
Society, and the only thing that seemed really to 
strike him was that he was Under-Secretary to the 
Foreign Office in London. That he was a great 
man in that capacity appeared clearly from the 
attitude of all our English colleagues. 

Our party went off very well. Layard came en Nov. 15. 
parent very good-naturedly. The Countess Usedom 
and her niece, Miss Campbell, filled half the room with 
their crinolines, and H.E. was most gn'ddig (gracious). 
It was Brinken who had advised asking her, as I do not 
think we should have had the courage ; indeed, when 
in the course of the day she sent a message to Donhoff 
en Chancellerie to ask what dress she should wear, and 
C. heard she was really coming, he was quite in a state 
of mind. To make up for having brought her upon 
us Brinken sent his servant to help in the evening. 
The man looked intensely proper and respectable, only 
being a German he could not make our people under- 
stand that he wanted a tray. At last he came to me in 
great distress, asking " ob kein Presentier Brett da war.^ " 
Of course there were plenty, and that part of the busi- 
ness went on smoothly. We had a pretty English 
girl, whose father is English Minister at Guatemala (I 
hope R. will tell you where that is) ; she speaks 
Spanish well, and instantly made friends with 
the Spaniards. Then Mrs. Monk and her daughters 
are here on a flying visit to the Mostyns, and Miss 
Monk came, looking very much the same as ever and 



2o6 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

very glad to meet Count Donhoff, who was, it seems, 
her cavalier in Rome, where they rode about the Cam- 
pagna together. So you see there were elements that 
amalgamated. All went on prosperously, and Layard 
loomed grandly on the scene. Conversation with him 
is rather nervous work when any names happen to be 
mentioned. He said something about Jocelyn ; I told 
him he was on leave. " You know you are so generous 
in those things, you give four months' leave at a 
time ! " " No, indeed we don't ; two months is the 
allowance." As Jocelyn is my particular friend I felt in 
a dreadful funk, but fortunately remembered he had 
allowed his leave to accumulate for two years. Then 
after some time Layard said, " Is that Mrs. Russell 
of our Legation — would you introduce me to her ? " 
So I took him up to Mrs. Russell, who was talking 
to Brinken. Brinken, of course, eclipsed himself at 
once. Layard spoke to me much about Willy, and 
his book that is to be, in terms highly gratifying to 
a sister's feelings, then, "You write to your brother, 
I suppose?" "Yes, I do write sometimes." "Then 
will you tell him I have had the pleasure of seeing you 
here, and that I have been very glad to hear about 
him ? " In short, he was very nice. Mme. d'Usedom 
invited him to dinner next day at Capponi and asked us 
to meet him. " My dear, you had a very nice party ; 
there is nothing like small rooms to make people amuse 
themselves. That cousin of yours is a nice little 
woman ; tell her to come to me on my Saturdays." 
And then H.E. and Lalla took themselves off, being 
nearly the last to go. When they were all gone I felt 
quite relieved and happy, for, after all, making oneself 
answerable for the amusement of so many people is 
rather nervous work ! 



FLORENCE 207 

The next day it poured, and our journey up to 
Capponi was not cheerful. However, it was worth 
anything to hear Layard talk, though we were not 
allowed much of that pleasure, for as soon as dinner 
was over Usedom carried him off and took entire 
possession of him. 

We came down early, for we had a party at Mme. 
d'Orlich's, the aunt of the Guatemala young lady. 

The day after, Patti sang for the first time in the 
"Sonnambula." She has come to Florence, and is to 
sing ten times. We have taken a half abonnement, and 
shall have the box five times, and a great treat it is ! 
We took Miss Matthew (Guatemala), who was nearly 
beside herself with delight. 

After that the Minister of Baden gave a dinner in 
honour of the Prince of Wied, who is at Florence at 
present. I wish I could describe the whole ceremony, 
but it would take too much time. When we arrived 
we were ushered into a large, cold drawing-room, 
dimly lighted at one end by a lamp that emitted a 
decided smell of petroleum. Neither the master nor 
the mistress of the house was there, so we entertained 
each other, with a gentleman, who had arrived early. 
Presently the S.'s came in, and Mme. de S. explained to 
me that her husband had gone out early, taking all the 
keys — wine, silver, &c. — with him, and had only just 
come home. A most inconvenient proceeding certainly. 
Soon the Prince arrived with two gentlemen who com- 
pose his escort, and was introduced to the company in 
the darkness. We then waited for a lady, who must 
certainly have been half an hour behind her time. 
When a prince is present I believe you ought not to 
wait for anybody, but excepting an occasional Durch- 
laucht (Serene Highness) they did not make much 



2o8 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

difference about him that I could see. At last the 
lady, who was French, made her appearance, dinner 
was announced, and the servant immediately walked 
off with the lamp, leaving us to follow as best we 
might. The dinner itself was infinitely better than I 
had dared to hope after such a beginning, and except 
that the poor Prince sat between Mme. de S., who 
speaks a very small amount of German, and his tutor, 
of whom he must of course see plenty in a general 
way, things went off very decently. But I shall never 
forget the sort of dread as to what might come next 
which had taken possession of me, and the people of 
the house were so helpless and good-natured through it 
all that one felt quite sorry for them ! 
Nov. 5. Last week was very quiet. We dined at Capponi 

with the Arnims, and spent quite a pleasant evening. 
Mme. d'Arnim and her sister, the Grafin Frida, are 
both tall and handsome, the younger sister very de- 
cidedly so, with a very pleasant, merry expression. 
She took my fancy most especially, looking so pretty 
in a white gaze de Chambery^ with a row of Venetian 
beads round her neck. She speaks English perfectly, 
and strongly recommended Trollope's novel, " Can 
You Forgive Her } " Her sister declared it was a 
stupid book — the history of a girl who did not know 
her own mind. " Ah ! well," said the young Countess, 
looking pathetically at the ceiling, "it is very hard 
sometimes to know one's own mind ! " She looked 
as if she were speaking from experience. They say 
she might have been Ambassadrice in Paris if she had 
chosen. Be that as it may, she is very charming, and 
I got the book " Can You Forgive Her V at once. 
It is a very interesting story, which I hope you will 
buy forthwith. There is a delightful description of a 



FLORENCE 209 

husband, who by some combination of circumstances 
is obliged to pass his evenings alone with his wife and 
her friend. He feels hopelessly sleepy in consequence, 
and takes little turns round the house in order to keep 
himself awake. I read this to C, who remarked that 
novels gave a very false idea of life I 

Mme. d'Usedom had her first Saturday reception 
yesterday. By some mistake 1 did not hear of it soon 
enough to go, but Brinken, who came in the evening, 
said it had been very brilliant. Brinken was very 
friendly, and begged me to show him my blue moire 
antique, which has just been made up with the point 
d'Argentan lace. I did bring him the skirt, being 
much amused at his request, but he asked to see the 
body too, and expressed himself satisfied. 



15 



CHAPTER XI 

War between Prussia and Italy combined against Austria — Battle of 
Custozza — Victory of Sadowa — Venetia ceded to Italy — 
Villino della Torre in Via de' Serragli — Count Radolinsky 
arrives — Defeat of Italians at Lissa — Peace proclaimed — C. 
receives Order of Zahringen Lowe of Baden — Goes to Venice 
— Fetes at Venice in honour of Victor Emanuel. 

THE summer of 1866 was a time of peculiar 
interest and excitement for our Legation at 
Florence, as Prussia and Italy had joined in the 
struggle against Austria, and the course of events was 
followed with breathless interest in the latter country, 
where the fate of Venice was trembling in the balance. 
Although a treaty of alliance had been signed at Berlin 
in the spring, there was much uncertainty in the con- 
duct of Prussia as to the actual opening of hostilities ; 
uncertainty caused in great part, I believe, by the 
extreme difficulty Bismarck found in bringing the King 
(afterwards Emperor William) to declare war on his old 
friend the Emperor of Austria. ^ Meanwhile all Italy 
was arming and volunteering, and the members of our 
Legation, finding themselves in the full stream ot 
enthusiasm for the war, were in a trying position, not 
knowing from day to day how much or how little they 
dared respond to the feelings around them, the orders 
from Berlin fluctuating continually. 

The fortune of war was against the Italians in the 

^ Cavour had long foreseen this alliance, and said, " L' Alliance 
de la Prusse avec le Piedmont agrandi est ecrite dans le livre 
futur de I'histoire." 



FLORENCE 211 

following campaign. The battle of Custozza, fought 
near the Mincio on June 24th, was lost by them, after 
a desperate struggle, during which the bravery of their 
troops won the openly expressed admiration of the 
Archduke Albert, who commanded the Austrian forces. 
Quite at the end of the war the Italian fleet, under 
Admiral Persano, suffered a terrible defeat at Lissa, 
not far from Venice, in the Adriatic. Meanwhile their 
German allies, chiefly led by the Crown Prince 
Frederick William of Prussia, had carried all before 
them, marching from victory to victory, until the 
Bohemian campaign was crowned by the decisive battle 
of Sadowa on July 3rd. Ere this, attempts had been 
made to detach Italy from her northern ally by 
proposing the cession to her of Venetia and the 
Quadrilateral, and so making a separate peace. These 
suggestions met with no response, and hostilities were 
continued until the victorious Prussians brought the 
campaign to a close. In a speech in the Prussian 
Chambers Bismarck acknowledged these facts, saying, 
" We had a powerful support in the unconquerable 
fidelity of Italy, a fidelity which I cannot sufficiently 
praise, and whose value I cannot rate too highly." 

Immediately after the victory of Sadowa the Emperor 
Napoleon announced to the King of Italy that by the 
arrangement already spoken of, the Austrians would 
cede Venetia to him and that he was willing to turn 
over that province to Italy. It was by this somewhat 
awkward and ungracious manoeuvre that poor Venice, 
after so many vicissitudes, was returned to Italy at last ! 

We have just got through our demenagement and Viiiino 
moved from the Lung' Arno Acciojuoli out here, Torre de 
almost near the Porta Romana. In one way we are naay^^.^' 



212 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

delighted, as our villino is situated between Boboli and 
the beautiful Torrigiani gardens, and we can almost 
imagine ourselves in the country ; but it is a great draw- 
back to be so far from the centre just now, when one 
wants to hear all that is going on. The whole country 
here is bent on war with Austria, but Prussia seems 
uncertain still, and / nostri alleati (our allies), as all our 
Legation are called, have rather a difficult part to play, 
according as their instructions vary, which they often 
do. The other day I met Arrivabeni, and he gave 
much stirring news. In Milan every man in society 
has volunteered for active service, except three, and 
they will have to go, for not a woman will 
speak to them. Gian Martino Arconati, the heir to 
that immense fortune, the only son and hope of his 
family, re-enters the army. His mother, the old 
Marchesa, is content to see him go, and says he cannot 
do otherwise. Garibaldi wanted 12,000 volunteers to 
make up 20 bataillons^ 60,000 are already inscribed. 
The two Princes join the army, " and if anything 
happens to them ? " "II y a le Due de Genes. II faut 
qu'ils se battent. La famille de Savoie n'est jamais 
restee en arriere." All party differences, all grievances 
about the change of capital are forgotten. *' A Turin 
on est content, tout est oublie. Maintenant que les 
Piemontais peuvent se battre ils n'en veulent plus a 
personne ! " 

People still talk of negotiations for peace, but I do 
not see how they can stop all that is going on now. 
Poor Usedom looks consumed with anxiety. Just 
when he would like to be in four places at once he has 
had a fit of the gout, which has tied him by the leg. 
He is unable to leave the Villa Capponi, and, in addi- 
tion to all the rest of his work, C. has had to travel 
up there every day to tell him what is going on. 




COUNT HUGO RAUOI.INSKY, NOW PRINCE 
RADOLIN, GERMAN AMBASSADOR IN 
PARIS. 



To lace p. 213.] 



FLORENCE 213 

There certainly is a warlike spirit in the air at 
present. Anina, the maid, is always singing the pathetic 
Garibaldi song, " Camicia rossa " (Red shirt). Do you 
remember the sensation she produced in the hotel at 
Rome last winter by beginning it suddenly without 
thinking of what she was doing — how the whole hotel 
rushed to stop her before the police should hear her, and 
how well they knew the song and all it meant ? B .also is 
continually humming a popular air she has picked up : — 

"Addio, mia bella, addio, 
L'armata se ne va ; 
Se non andasse anch' io 
Sarebbe una vilta ! " ^ 

Then, of course. Garibaldi's hymn resounds on all sides 
and on all the barrel organs. Some people declaim 
against it, but I must say I think it fine and appro- 
priate, with the stirring tune and the chorus : " Va 
fuori d'ltalia, va fuori, o stranier " (Go out of Italy, 
go out, oh stranger), which certainly expresses the 
feelings of the moment. 

Things political continue to look black enough. Florence, 
Usedom is in the lowest dumps between gout and 
anxiety, and the Comtesse seems more thoroughly cast 
down than I could have believed possible. They are 
alone at Capponi just now, so that the poor Chief 
cannot even have any music to soothe and enliven him. 
The Comtesse says he talks politics all the evening, and 
if she does not give exactly the right answer he snaps 
at her. He won't see anybody, because they question 

^ "Adieu, my beauty, adieu, 
The army is going ; 
Were I not to go too 
It would be a cowardly act." 



May 16. 



214 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

him about the state of things, which is too uncertain to 
bear talking of. 

Count R., the successor of our dear old colleague 
Brinken, has arrived. Though quite young he is a 
married man. His wife, who is English, is said to be 
very beautiful, but she is not coming here for some 
time. 

Here we are again in the times when newspapers are 
the most interesting things in existence, to be read with 
beating hearts and tearful eyes, and yet we have none 
of our nearest and dearest engaged in this dreadful 
conflict. Alas ! this first battle of Custozza on the 
Mincio (June 24th) seems most disastrous. We went 
up to Capponi in the evening, and found them all 
almost beside themselves with excitement. Bernhardi, 
the second Prussian officer who has been sent to report 
on the war, was poring over maps on the terrace en 
tenue de campagne^ ready to start for the Italian head- 
quarters. Usedom is quite ill with agitation and 
anxiety ; he feels things too deeply, and has not nerve 
and physical strength enough to bear up against the 
pressure. The Comtesse takes admirable care of him, 
but is wilder than ever on her own account, wanting 
La Marmora to be accused of treason for losing the 
battle of Custozza and I know not what besides. Un- 
fortunately it seems only too clear that on the 24th the 
Italian troops fought admirably during the twelve hours' 
stubborn contest, but they were badly generalled, and it 
does seem hard that the best blood in Italy should flow 
so freely without being turned to best account. The 
two Princes were quite up to the old reputation or 
*' Casa di Savoia," and Prince Amadeo, the King's second 
son, has been wounded. 

The first effect of the news of the defeat at Custozza 



FLORENCE 215 

here was that nearly every man who was left in 
Florence went to offer to enrol himself. As to the 
ultimate result of the war one can feel no doubt ; it is 
a righteous cause, and the spirit of the nation is wound 
up to heroic pitch. All sorts of little towns and 
municipalities that nobody ever heard of are voting 
sums as rewards to the first soldier of the place who 
gets a medal, or who takes an Austrian colour. Then 
there are to be pensions for life for the disabled, 
pensions for the widows and orphans. Those who fall 
are to have their names inscribed on marble tablets in 
the Palazzo di Citta (Town Hall). The papers are 
full of addresses to the King and to Prince Amadeo, 
some of them very good ones too. 

Every woman in the place is making lint and 
bandages. B. helps too. " Maman, pourquoi est-ce- 
que Vittorio va a la guerre .? " I tried to explain how 
poor Venice had so long been entreating Vittorio to 
bring his soldiers and come and help her. She listened 
with the tears in her eyes, and prays now every evening 
that God will bless " les bons soldats, lis ne se battent 
pas pour eux, mais pour aider les pauvre Venitiens." 
Poor things, may God indeed help them ! fighting 
and suffering in this intense heat, when one can barely 
endure life by keeping perfectly quiet in a dark room ! 
Every one who can is flying from Florence, and soon 
the Corps diplomatique will be left here alone. 

The news of the last great Prussian victory (Sadowa) Florence, 
has arrived. The Legation is allm^^;z<^/^r (2/^ (beflagged), 
the Sindaco of Florence came to congratulate officially, 
and, as Usedom was not there, C. had to receive him. 
All our gentlemen were " walking on their heads with 
joy " — at least, that .was Mme. d'Usedom's description 
of them when she came in the afternoon. In the 



2i6 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

evening we went up to Villa Capponi, where many 
people had come to congratulate, and where all was 
very festive. It is pathetic to hear the people about us 
inquiring as the news of one Prussian victory after 
another comes, " Non c'e niente per noi^? " (Is there 
nothing for us ? ) Poor things, they have given all so 
freely — their blood, their money, and their lives. It is 
heartrending to think it should all have been or so 
little avail, and that the honourable defeat at Custozza 
is the only result. 

The news of the terrible naval defeat of the Italians 
under Admiral Persano, at Lissa, has been a great blow. 
One had so hoped they might have ended the war 
with some success besides what Garibaldi has been 
doing in Tyrol. All the flags were out for that, how- 
ever, and looked so bright waving in the sun against 
the grim old houses and palaces. 

A pleasing episode in the midst of all this has been 
the arrival of a mysterious parcel for B. When 
opened it was found to contain a beautiful doll with 
an ample trousseau, and a letter from Mdlle. A. 
explained that it was one of Madame Marguerite's 
own, which had long been destined for B. All the 
clothes had been made by the Princess and Mdlle. A., 
" Depuis les pieds a la tete c'est notre ouvrage." You 
may imagine how grateful and pleased I feel — almost 
as much as B., who is delighted with her new 
possession. 

And so peace is signed at last ! All the flags were 
out at the Legation and at the public buildings, but 
there were few signs of rejoicing about the town, and 
the streets that had been so decorated for Garibaldi's 
passage through Florence a few days ago looked very 
much as usual. Although the joy is great at Venice 



FLORENCE 217 

being freed at last from the yoke which she has borne 
since Bonaparte gave her away to Austria in 1791 at 
the treaty of Campo Formio, the peace is not popular. 
All the comedy General Leboeuf has to enact in 
Venice, of first receiving it from the Austrians in the 
name of the Emperor Napoleon and then handing it 
over to the Italians, goes against the feeling here, and 
was received at first with a cry of indignation from the 
whole population. 

Menabrea also has failed in his endeavours to 
get the Trentino^^ a small Italian-speaking district, 
which is really on this side of the higher Alps, and 
which has no great barriers between the city of Trent 
and the Lago di Garda. It is sad to see it definitely 
cut off from Italy, in spite of its despair. The King 
has lost much ground, unfortunately, in consequence of 
the late disastrous campaign, and as for La Marmora, 
the caricatures one sees of him at every street corner 
are such that it is a great proof of his strength of mind 
to stay in Florence at all. 

The Osten Sackens, who have just returned from 
the Lakes, say the irritation here is nothing to what 
it is in the north or Italy. There every man, 
almost literally, joined the army, and sore is the 
discontent. 

The Senate is to meet next week for Admiral 
Persano's trial after his defeat at Lissa. I asked 
Count Rasponi the other evening what would be the 
penalty in case Persano should be condemned, and he 

^ This district is what is now known as the " Italia irredenta " 
(unredeemed). It is said to be most important in a strategic point 
of view, and has been strongly fortified by the Austrians ; but the 
lately erected statue of Dante, in the square of Trent, still beckons 
with its hands towards the beloved mother country. 



2i8 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

quite startled me by answering in his quiet, almost 
drawling way : " Mais il s'agirait de le fusilier, je 
crois." He seemed to think, moreover, that it would 
be a good thing if it was done and an end put to 
all the scandal that is going on. We had a diner 
d' adieu at Capponi before Comtesse Usedom went off 
to the Lago Maggiore. There were only Count 
Otto D., ourselves, and an Italian cavalry officer, who 
was on General Bixio's staff at the battle of Custozza. 
He was the first man I had seen who had returned 
from the war, and his accounts were almost painfully 
interesting, as he told his story with feeling and with 
plenty of bitterness. He described how he had met 
General Govone on the evening after the battle, and 
had heard him say in his quiet, sarcastic way : " Avec 
trois fois plus de troupes que les Autrichiens, ils [La 
Marmora and Co.] ont trouve le moyen de se faire 
battre, c'est tres fort dans son genre." He told how 
Bixio was left alone towards evening with two thousand 
men, and how he received the Austrian parlementaire 
who came to summon him to surrender. The troops 
were all formed up in defensive order behind their 
artillery, but when the trumpet of the parlementaire 
was heard, Bixio roSe out at full gallop and caught 
hold of the Austrian by the shoulder, exclaiming, 
" Si volta ! " (Turn round). Those who were behind, 
seeing the action and not hearing the words, thought 
Bixio was going to kill the man. He listened to his 
message, however, which the Austrian delivered in 
French. " Parla Italiano ? " " O altro ! " said the 
other. Bixio then gave him his answer and sent him 
off. Ten minutes afterwards the Uhlans were charg- 
ing. Prince Amadeo, who was wounded, owed his life 
to his extreme thinness. The ball ploughed its way 



FLORENCE 219 

round his stomach, and if he had been half an inch 
stouter all might have been over with him. As it 
is, they have been obliged to keep him without food 
for ever so long. He behaved very pluckily. " Evviva 
il babbo. lo son morto ! " (Long life to papa. I am 
done for !) 

I have been to see the wife of our new colleague, 
Comtesse R., who has just arrived from the uttermost 
parts of Prussia, and is very tired after her long journey. 
She seems very handsome and charming. Our present 
colleagues are all as nice as possible, and "Unsere lieben 
Vorgesetzten " (our dear superiors), as Comte Otto 
calls C, who is charge d'affaires now that Usedom is at 
the Lakes, is in particularly good health and spirits. 
We are getting daily fonder of beautiful Florence, and 
I certainly never cross one of the bridges, which we do 
almost daily since we live in the Oltr' Arno, without 
a thrill of admiration as I look up and down the river 
and particularly at the high, dark hills of Vallombrosa. 

Did I tell you that C. has been named member of 
the Consistory of the Vaudois Church, to the intense 
joy of his colleagues at the Legation, who now only 
call him the Consistorial-Rath (Consistory Councillor). 
Indeed, it has got to be quite his usual appellation, 
so that Count R., who, as a new-comer, was not aware 
of it, was utterly puzzled by the Chiefs bursting into 
the Chancellerie in a great hurry and inquiring, " Wo 
ist der Consistorial-Rath ? " (Where is the Consistory 
Councillor ?) " Excellenz .? " said poor R. in per- 
plexity. " Ja, wo ist de Consistorial-Rath — wo ist 
Bunsen ? " upon which all became plain. 

Just at present C. is busy trying to help the German 
deaconesses, who have a very prosperous school here, 
to find another house, as the one they occupy is to be 



220 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

pulled down according to the plans for improving, or, 
at any rate, altering Florence ! 

The Bavarian nuns at Assisi also require his aid for 
their affaires so that he has plenty to do. 

I don't know if I have mentioned that the Duchesse 
de Talleyrand, who is our next-door neighbour, receives 
on Wednesday evenings. We can get there through 
the garden, and have actually been three times running, 
as it is a very pleasant house. The other evening we 
had tea at the R.'s, and I like the young Comtesse more 
and more every time I see her. She is very beautiful, 
with dark hair and eyes, and a lovely transparent com- 
plexion, and has also a very winning, confiding manner. 
It is amusing to see her open her fine eyes wide at 
sundry revelations about Florence society. 

C. brought the Baden Minister, M. de Schweizer 
to dinner suddenly the other day. He had just arrived 
from Carlsruhe, and had brought C. the order of the 
Zahringen Lowe of Baden. It is very pretty, and as 
it is a Commandeur^ C. will have two ribbons round his 
neck now. As we knew nothing whatever about it, 
it was quite a pleasant surprise. Schweizer spent the 
evening, and was as usual very amusing, with a mixture 
of naivete and shrewdness which is very peculiar. 

Now that all the bartering and exchanging or poor 
Venice between Austria and France and Italy is over, 
Vittorio will soon be making his solemn entry there, 
which will be a most interesting occasion. After much 
discussion as to who was to go or not, it has been 
decided that the ladies of the Corps diplomatique 
remain here and the gentlemen alone will be present. 

The 4th was C.'s birthday, and he expressed a wish 
to celebrate it by having the R.'s to dinner, which was 
accordingly done. M. de Schweizer, who is treated 




CARL VON BUNSEN, CONSEILLER DE LEGATION 
AT FLORENCE. 



To face p. 220.] 



I 



FLORENCE 221 

as a family friend since the Zahringen Lowe, could not 
come. In the evening we had the dear Forbes, our 
neighbours Mr. and Mrs. Russell, and the Count and 
Countess Tornielli. I He is an Italian diplomat employed 
at the Foreign Office here, and having amongst other 
things the direction of all arrangements for the Corps 
diplomatique during their stay in Venice. He has 
married a very agreeable and lively Russian, and they 
also live in our street. Late in the afternoon we had 
gone up to Bellosguardo for a quick walk, and as we 
came down we had a beautiful sight. Against the 
background of hills, in the darkening twilight, the 
Duomo, the Campanile, and the tower of the Signoria 
were traced in lines of light. It was the illumination 
in honour of the decree which joined Venice to Italy, 
and the effect was magical. 

C. set off for Venice yesterday, in great glee at the 
idea of a partie de gargons. Count R. and himself were 
the only Prussians in the special diplomatic train, as 
the Chief goes direct from Lago Maggiore, taking 
Count Otto with him. B. and I went to the station to 
see them off, but B. declared she does not like going 
with people to the railway : " (^a donne a Beatrice des 
idees de voyager ! " 

Yesterday we had a very pleasant dinner at Mrs. 
Elliot's ; she had asked all the deserted ladies, Stroh 
Wittwe (straw-widows), as they are called in German. 
Mrs. Russell and I went afterwards to the Duchesse de 
Talleyrand's, where we found much the usual set. 
Mrae. de Talleyrand inquired tenderly for C, and said 
she would rather have his descriptions of what passed 
at Venice than anybody else's, she was sure they would 

^ Count Tornielli was subsequently Italian Ambassador in 
London and Paris. 



222 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

be so graphic. Till now the desolate ladies seem doing 
their best to keep up their spirits. The Comtesse R. 
had a letter from her husband and Mrs. Russell two 
from hers. Our cook also had intelligence from the 
French Legation, where M. de Malaret's letters seem to 
leak out somehow amongst the servants. But the 
Duchesse is quite right, and C's accounts are decidedly 
the best. It seems that he and Count R. share the 
same room at Venice, and though the Comtesse and 
myself do not go quite so far as that, we are almost 
as much together as our spouses. She is very charm- 
ing, and I am getting more and more in love with her 
every day. She is left very much in my charge at 
present, and as she is expecting a baby soon I feel dread- 
fully responsible about her. Happily she has entirely 
bewitched Mrs. Elliot, who has told her to send for 
her at any moment ; not, as Mrs. Elliot explained to 
me, that she has any taste for that sort of thing, or 
that she had ever been present at any confinement but 
her own, but from pure friendly feeling. This is a 
great boon, as they are near neighbours, whereas I live 
at the other end of the town and could be of no use in 
case of emergency. 

As usual here the Corps diplomatique has not been 
particularly attended to at Venice, and the Comtesse 
R. is furious. She cannot imagine how we can like the 
Italians who treat us so badly ! She dined with me on 
Saturday. Yesterday we walked together ; this evening 
I go to her again, so that we see plenty of each other. 

From Venice C. returned in the most wonderful 
spirits, full of fun and nonsense, and with a whole 
collection of absurd anecdotes. It seems that he. Count 
R., and Count Otto D. had become popular characters 
at Venice, and whenever they debouched from their 





COMTESSE LUCIE RADOLINSKA. 



To face p. 222.] 



FLORENCE 223 

hotel into the Piazza San Marco, were received with 
cries of " Ecco i Prussiani ! Viva i Prussiani." What 
little was done for the Corps diplomatique was only 
for the Chefs de Mission, so that the others were very- 
much left to themselves. The Prussian Consul, how- 
ever, happily took up our gentlemen, and as he is very 
rich, has palaces, gondolas, &c., in abundance, they 
were quite well off. Between them they must have 
driven the poor Frau Consul almost to the verge of 
distraction. She was told that two of the three gentle- 
men were married ; C. there was no difficulty about, but 
she wanted to know which of the other two ? " Otto, 
Count Otto, was the married man and had a large 
family ! " The Frau Consul did not feel sure — he 
certainly did look older than Count R., though not 
much steadier. Count Otto naturally disclaimed 
vehemently — " R. was the married man ; he had a 
son of six years old." " No, that was impossible ; he 
must have married " aus der Schule " (from the 
school). At last she went to Usedom. " Excellenz, 
which of them really is married ? " The whole Legation 
dined together every day, Usedom presiding and talk- 
ing as much nonsense as anyone. Their first days in 
Venice, however, after their triumphal journey, seem to 
have been gloomy, as the weather was dark and foggy, 
and they even had thoughts of coming home again 
after the entry. C. and R. had a large room which 
they occupied in common, and where they were very 
comfortable (by the by, I wish I could give you C.'s 
account of R.'s daily bath, and the misadventures 
attending it, which is killing, but I am afraid I should 
not do it justice ; suffice is to say that some one 
invariably walked into the room in the midst of the 
operation). On the day of the grand entrance of the 



224 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

King into Venice, the Chief had promised to take them 
all in his boat, but he was in a bad humour, had 
twinges of the gout, and put out their plans by 
giving up going. The Consul had offered C. and R. 
a place in his gondola to go and meet the royal cortege, 
and they had accepted ; C, however, as usual, gave up 
his place to Count Otto, who had arrived in the middle 
of the night, and went to the biblioteca on the Piazzetta, 
opposite the Ducal Palace, where windows were kept 
officially for the Corps diplomatique. There were very 
{qw there, as most of them were in gondolas, and the 
Chefs de Mission walking up and down in uniform on 
a carpet in the Piazzetta, waiting to receive the King. 
The fog was so thick you could not see the other side 
of the canal. Nevertheless, C. says the arrival was 
wonderful. The piotes^ I think they call them, light 
long boats belonging to the municipio, came flying 
down to clear the way. They stopped short exactly 
within two feet of the Piazzetta, so suddenly that all 
their flags and streamers that were straight in the air 
came down with a shock ; a moment more they would 
have been smashed to pieces. Then the royal barge 
appeared, and Vittorio, bare-headed, followed by his 
sons, set foot on the soil of Venice. He went straight 
to San Marco, which had been crowded long before, 
and those that saw say that the Te Deum seemed 
a fervent one, and that princes, aides-de-camps, and 
many whom one would not suspect of much religious 
feeling, went down on their knees and joined heartily 
in the chant which rose from the whole church — the 
thanksgiving for Venice joined to Italy at last. Then 
the King went on foot to the Palace, and showed him- 
self from the balcony ; many in the crowd were weep- 
ing with emotion. Ricasoli and Usedom were talking 



FLORENCE 225 

together in a balcony, and when they were recognised, 
were hailed with cries of " Viva il Ministro di Prussia, 
viva Ricasoli," so that they were obliged to bow and 
wave their handkerchiefs. Usedom came down and 
joined his Legation in the Piazza, quite a numerous 
party, for besides the trio there was Count C. D. 
and Major Lucadow, who followed the campaign ; the 
crowd accompanied them to their gondola, shouting 
" Viva la Prussia," so they had their share in the ova- 
tion, and it must be confessed that it was only fair. 
The next day was foggy again and they did not know 
what to do, as it was too dark to see churches or 
pictures. Friday it rained, but Saturday was bright 
and they all cheered up accordingly. The King gave 
a great dinner on Saturday to which only the Chefs de 
Mission went, of course, but on that evening took 
place one of the most striking scenes of the whole week. 
An immense crowd, thousands on thousands, had 
assembled on the Piazza San Marco, and the roar 
of their acclamations penetrated to the hall where the 
King and his guests were dining. Vittorio rose, 
followed by all the company, and presented himself 
to the people. The whole Piazza was one dark mass of 
heads ; in an instant, by a kind of electric flash, it was 
white with the waving of handkerchiefs. The effect, it 
seems, was wonderful ; I have heard it compared to 
the lighting of the cupola of St. Peter's. Those that 
gazed down on that vast mass say there was something 
almost awful in the sight, something that thrilled the 
most indifferent and that could never be forgotten. 
The King turned to General Moring, the Austrian 
Commissioner, and said : " II faut avouer que cela est 
emouvant." The Austrian bowed low — what could he 
say ? On Sunday morning the Duchess of Genoa 

16 



226 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

received the " martyrs," all the ladies who were 
imprisoned for attending a mass said for the soul 
of Cavour. They were first condemned to a fine, 
but refused to pay, saying that many who were with 
them could not afford it, and that they wished to 
be treated all alike. They were accordingly all put 
into the common prisons and kept there in company 
with the lowest offenders. Mr. Russell saw one of 
them at the Princess Giovanelli's ball — a very handsome 
person ; her husband died of grief and indignation at 
the treatment to which she was exposed. I forget when 
the regatta came in, but it was a gorgeous sight ; two 
windows were reserved at the Consul's pour la Legation 
de Prusse. The King, unfortunately, did not give 
satisfaction, as so often happens. It seems it is the 
Venetian custom on such occasions for the authorities 
to follow the procession of boats down the Grand Canal 
when the regatta is over. The Podesta asked if H.M. 
would follow — the King refused. They say he did not 
know it was the custom. How should he ? But could 
not some one have given him a hint, rather than let 
him disappoint all the crowds waiting to see him ? 

There are so many pretty anecdotes going about, I 
wish I could remember some of them. This one I 
read in the Times, I think. Of course, all the little 
streets and lanes of Venice were imbandierate for 
the occasion and full of flags and streamers. In one 
of the little rios a poor cobbler had pasted on his 
door three strips of paper — red, white, and green — 
with the inscription, " O ! mia cara Italia, voglio ma 
non posso fare di piu per te ! " (Oh ! my beloved Italy, 
I would wish, but I cannot do more for thee !) Is it 
not quite touching } 

C. says the last evening at Venice, with the serenade 



FLORENCE 227 

on the water and the internal illumination of the 
palaces, was the finest of all. In the partial light 
the modern costumes were lost sight of, and with all 
the richly dressed gondolas and decorated palaces one 
seemed really to see the Venice of two centuries ago. 
The illuminations must have been splendid, something 
different every night. Once the column and lion of 
St. Mark resplendent alone, on the dark Piazzetta, and 
all sorts of wonderful effects. The police on the canals 
kept order with a waterspout. If a boat will not give 
way the spout is sent into the air, from which a gentle 
shower descends on the offenders, becoming more and 
more direct as the spout comes down amongst shouts 
of laughter. It seems it is a most effectual method. 

We saw the King arrive from Venice the other day ; 
on the whole the reception here was cool. His son, 
Prince Amadeo, the one who was wounded in the war, 
had his carriage full of flowers. We were at a window 
in Tomabuoni, and B. had taken off her gloves, pre- 
paring to clap her hands as the procession passed. The 
King, however, was talking into Ricasoli's ear and 
never looked up, so that we saw nothing but his hat. 
The child was quite disappointed. " Beatrice aime 
moins Vittorio aujourd'hui ; Beatrice trouve qu'il n'est 
pas tres poli." The illuminations here would have 
been beautiful, but the bad weather they had at Venice 
continued here, and after a foggy day it rained in the 
evening. We went to the gala at the Pergola with 
the Villamarinas, who had paid 100 frs. for the box. 
The " Africaine " is magnificent. 



CHAPTER XII 

Intense cold — Christmas dinner at Capponi — My reception at 
Court by the Duchesse d'Aosta — Carnival — Veglioni — We go 
to Milan for Carnivalone — Marchesa Trivulzio — Court ball — 
Trivulzio collection. 

THE weather is atrocious, sleet and snow falling 
continually, with a bitter tramontana. The 
streets are so slippery that cabs and omnibuses have 
ceased to run, and not a carriage is to be seen. This 
being the state of things, C. and I have given ourselves 
up to a most delicious far niente ; C. cut the Legation 
and read novels, I sorted heaps of cards to see which 
were to be returned, and then sat by the fire trying to 
get warm, and thinking how lucky it is our Sylvester 
Abend party belongs to history and was not fixed for 
to-night, when it could not possibly have taken place. 
Comtesse Usedom sent profuse contributions to our 
Christmas tree : a Chinese doll for B., with a 
collection of curious wigs, a magnificent doll's dinner- 
service, &c. Madame d'Osten-Sacken sent her a 
beautiful bonbonniere in green velvet, and Mrs. West 
about a dozen picture-books from England. So that, 
with her family gifts, she did very well. I must 
not forget my Christmas-box — a really magnificent 
pair of diamond earrings which I had been eyeing 
in a shop window for a long time, and which I at 

last took C. to see, with satisfactory results. The 

228 



FLORENCE 229 

price I had better not mention, as it is alarming, but I 
excuse myself to my conscience by thinking that they 
will come in for B. by and by. I put them on for 
the Christmas dinner at Capponi, and the Comtesse 
quite screamed when she saw them. " What have you 
put on those diamonds for .? it's only a family dinner ! " 
I could hardly get in a word to explain they were a 
new present and I wanted to show them to her. It 
was rather a dreary party ; the Comtesse had the 
grippe and could barely sit out dinner — she went to 
bed directly it was over. Usedom came to table for 
the first time after an attack of fever, and Hildegarde 
had a bad cold in her head. As we drove down from 
Capponi in the dark, my thoughts wandered away to 
you all, and I almost agreed with Mrs. Lawrence, who 
says she detests this time of year. For those who 
live in " Ausland " it is certainly not the most cheerful. 

Friday we had a musical party at Count Susanni's, Jan. 12. 
which turned out very brilliantly. Grisi was there 
with her three pretty daughters, sitting rather apart, 
surrounded by a kind of bodyguard of very second 
or third rate men. I don't remember if I told you 
that the day Agnani the painter took us to see her 
magnificent villa we met Grisi on the road and went 
through a sort of partial introduction. Agnani came to 
ask me to go and speak to the " povera Signora Giulia," 
as he called her, who knew very few people. I com- 
plied, of course, though I did not like it very much, 
and made my way into the circle in which the Signora 
Giulia, dressed in white moire antique and all sorts of 
splendour, was established. She has not much to say 
for herself, and the conversation languished decidedly 
till her eldest daughter, a handsome girl of seventeen, 
took it up suddenly and asked me de but en hlanc if I 



230 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

thought the Hungarian Countess had really poisoned 
her rival. You may imagine that I was rather taken 
aback, but I did just understand what she meant, and 
told her I seldom read the papers and never the horrors 
in them. She then tried another subject. How did 
I like Baden-Baden ? Alas ! I had to confess I had 
never been there, whereupon I think she perceived I 
was not at all a sa haute ur^ and we gave each other up. 
The sensation of the evening was a Sicilian who has 
the most wonderful tenor voice I ever heard. He was 
accompanied by another Sicilian, both singing and play- 
ing by ear, as neither of them knows a note of music. 
We had taken leave and were quite out of the room 
when Susanni came to beg us to stay a little longer, 
promising the Sicilian should sing again. He did — 
Campana's pretty song " Non posso vivere senza di 
te," which has haunted me ever since ; the timbre of 
his voice is quite too beautiful. 

I have been wanting to write to you about our 
reception at Court by the Duchesse d' Aosta, which came 
upon us very suddenly on Tuesday. As you know, 
the young Duchess is by birth a Princess della Cisterna, 
and became sole heiress of that great house by the 
tragical death of her only sister some years ago.^ 
Since then her mother, who is a de Merode, is said 
to have declared that she should be either a Princesse 

^ Their father, the Prince della Cisterna, died in one of his 
castles in the country. His widow, in defiance of the laws of the 
land, deferred his burial for a week, during which time she and her 
two daughters never left the death-chamber, where masses were 
being said continually for the repose of his soul. The youngest 
girl's nerve gave way completely and she entreated to be let out, 
but was sternly told it was her duty to her father's memory to 
remain. The result was that she got brain fever and died. The 
story made a great noise at the time. 




H.R.H. THE DUCHESS OF AOSTA. 



To face p. 230.] 



FLORENCE 231 

an sang or a nun. When we were at the villa near 
Turin I have often met them driving, all swathed in 
black, with a nun also in black in the carriage. The 
whole effect was so lugubrious that I inquired who they 
were. The young Princess had been brought up very 
carefully and in great seclusion, until her marriage with 
the King's second son, Prince Amadeo, Duke of Aosta, 
was brought about. Count Galli, who is her chevalier 
cthonneur^ described it all to me at Livorno last year. 
It must have been a dreadful ordeal for the poor girl, 
who had seen nothing of the world, and had scarcely 
ever left the great dull Palace della Cisterna in Turin. 
Her very suite, who, as Galli said, '* lui faisaient des 
reverences et des courbettes," must have quite 
frightened her. She wept during the whole time of 
the wedding ceremony, but the King and all the 
royal family, with the innate generosity of the House 
of Savoy, received her with even more kindness than 
they would have shown to a royal princess their equal 
in rank. 

This is her first visit to Florence, and as she is to 
stay a very short time it had been positively said she 
would not receive the Corps diplomatique. I was the 
more astonished, therefore, when C. came in near one 
o'clock to tell me the Duchesse d' Aosta would receive 
us all at four ! Our invitation, or order I suppose 
would be more correct, went up to the Villa Capponi, 
was sent back here addressed to C, and followed him 
to the Chancellerie, from whence he brought it back 
himself. I had no dress ready, and had to go off 
straight to Blanche, who was doing up one for me. 
Luckily she had it in hand and promised to send it in 
an hour. I then took the flowers I intended to wear 
to Mme. Coda, who had them mounted very nicely in 



232 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

a quarter of an hour. By the time I returned home 
successfully C. had gone, as he had to attend a first 
reception of all the diplomatic gentlemen by Prince 
Umberto. He sent the carriage back for me, and I 
reached the Pitti a few minutes before four. I went 
up the grand staircase by myself, but just joined Mme. 
de Sacken and Mme. d'AminofF, who were going in. 
There was already quite a small crowd of ladies 
assembled, and amongst them I recognised our old 
friend the Comtesse Castiglione, who used to officiate 
at the Duchess of Genoa's at Turin on similar occasions, 
and who is now first lady to the Duchesse d'Aosta. 

Presently the gentlemen came down, for it seems 
Prince Umberto was lodged somewhere in the skies, 
and C. was agreeably surprised to find me there all 
right and looking very neat^ as he was pleased to 
express it, knowing all the difficulties I had had to 
overcome. I had better tell you at once that my dress 
was a green velvet tunique over white, with a good 
deal of old guipure on it, white flowers with green 
leaves in my hair, diamond brooch and earrings. 
My friend Galli, chevalier d'honneur to the Princess, 
greeted me very warmly, and as I was almost the only 
lady he knew I experienced the advantage of having 
a friend at Court. Presently the doors opened, the 
Chefesses de Mission advanced in single file and dis- 
appeared. There was a moment of hesitation — were 
we to follow } Galli rushed forward : " Est-ce que 
ces dames ne veulent pas entrer .? S. A.R. re^oit toutes 
les dames ensemble." I looked at Mme. de Sacken 
and she looked at me. " Entrez done, Comtesse ! " 
" Non, non, vous etes la plus ancienne ! " So I had 
to head the second division. Tableau : a middle-sized 
drawing-room hung with red, the Prince and Princess 



FLORENCE 233 

standing before a sofa in the middle, about sixteen 
ladies in very bright dresses in a circle round them, 
Galli and Castiglione in easy attitudes near the door, 
and Mme. de Castiglione hovering about in cerise 
velvet and black lace. The Princess was in pink with 
a long tunique of point de Bruxelles and magnificent 
coronet and necklace of diamonds. Her features are 
good, especially her profile ; she has a quantity of fair 
hair, which was very elaborately dressed, rather too 
much on the top of her head perhaps ; her complexion 
is jiot good, and diamonds by daylight are always 
trying. The ladies' dresses were very pretty — cerise 
silks and satins, a beautiful yellow gown and quantities 
of lace. Mme. de Sacken was in salmon colour with 
point de Flandres. There were also two or three dark 
velvets, and the general effect was charming. 

Business began by the Princess going up to Mme. 
Solvyns and their talking in the usual mysterious 
whispering. As she got on in the circle the Prince 
began his rounds, shaking hands with each lady. The 
young Duchess must certainly be clever, for it was no 
small task to talk to sixteen ladies she had never seen 
before, not with the usual set questions, but really enter- 
ing into conversation and giving them opportunities of 
answering her, as she did. Meanwhile, in the midst of 
the solemn operation I could not help gazing at my 
Chef esse and really wondering at the extreme peculiarity 
of her ways and appearance. I had never seen her on 
such an occasion before, and that was perhaps why it 
struck me so much. She was in black, which does not 
suit her, although in general people always look well in 
it. I fancy the ceremony had come upon her unawares, 
for some very fine black lace had evidently been put in 
a hurry over a black velvet dress, and quite high up on 



234 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

the left side of the skirt was sewn a white feather ! It 
had a most curious effect, rather as if her pocket was 
badly made and her handkerchief falling out. Usedom 
himself seemed struck by it, for I heard him say, point- 
ing to the feather as she came in, " What have you got 
on that for ? " to which she responded majestically, 
" Because it's the fashion ! " I suppose, however, some 
doubts on the subject came into her mind later, for she 
began en plein circle to pull and tug at this unhappy 
feather, covering her dress with small fluffy particles. 
At length she got it off and crushed it up in her hand, 
but in a few minutes forgot all about it and let it fall 
on the floor. Galli, the prince of chevaliers d'honneur^ 
darted forward and restored it to her with a bow and 
a grace. I caught his eye as he went back to his place, 
and we could neither of us restrain a slight smile. 
She then poked about a long time for her pocket, and 
the feather finally disappeared therein. 

The Duchesse d'Aosta's powers of conversation were 
almost too abundantly displayed, for I began to feel 
quite giddy with the long standing before she finished 
up with Mme. de Bruck, who was the last. As for the 
Duke, faithful to Turin etiquette, he stuck to Mme. de 
S., the last of the Chef esses de Mission^ who was standing 
next to me and who is not one of the most brilliant 
of our ladies. He kept up an interminable conversa- 
tion with her, as though an invisible barrier had 
separated him from the secretaries' wives, who are not 
supposed to exist for princes. Why they should exist 
for princesses is not easy to understand. It was 
amusing to watch him casting anxious glances at his 
wife as she pursued her course, and evidently calculating 
how long his stock of talk would last him with Mme. 
de S. Mme. de Sacken was very wroth. " C'est 



FLORENCE 235 

d'autant plus malhonnete qu'il doit nous connaitre 
parfaitement toutes les deux de Turin, et sans nous 
flatter, se n'etait pas la personne avec qui il causait qui 
pouvait le retenir." At last it was over, the Chefesses 
sailed away, making queer enough curtsies and sidling 
to the door, so as not quite to turn their backs, and 
we were safely out of it. We were shown into another 
drawing-room, there to await our lords and masters, 
whose turn it now was. Galli was very empresse, and 
again addressed himself to me as being his only 
acquaintance. " Ces dames voudraient elles leurs 
chales, leurs manteaux, je les ferais apporter." The 
room was not at all warm. I transmitted the offer to 
Mme. Usedom, who was not pleased, I suppose, at its 
being made through me, or she was still cross about 
her feather, for her answer was, " My dear, do you 
suppose if I wanted my shawl I should wait to ask 
permission to have it V which polite speech, being 
made in English, I hope Galli did not understand. 
We had to wait about an hour in that room before the 
gentlemen came trooping in. Then the sight on the 
stairs was really very pretty. The mass of uniforms — 
one particularly chic Austrian one, with an eagle's 
feather in the cap, was worn by Count Khnevenhiiller, 
who has lately arrived ^ — the orders and embroidery 
mingling with the bright dresses of the ladies looked 
quite gorgeous. 

On Thursday we went to the Talleyrands, and then Jan. 26, 
on to a dance at Miss Hatch's, a very pretty American 
heiress, who has settled at Florence for a time and 
wishes to receive. She has a widowed sister with her 
as chaperone ; they both dress well and are very nice 
and amusing. Miss Hatch was at our Sylvester Abends 

^ Now Austrian Ambassador in Paris. 



236 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

but did not dance much, though I did my best in 
introducing people to her, and they all asked who she 
was and admired her in an exquisite Parisian dress, all 
real Valenciennes lace. She gave an amusing account 
of it herself, saying that when I presented young men 
to her and they murmured something, she always 
answered, "Avec plaisir, monsieur," thinking they 
were asking for a dance, whereupon they walked off ! 
She does not seem much edified by the jeune diplomatie. 
However, there was an exception. " One I must have, 
Mme. de Bunsen, the son of Qiuits ! the son of Quils ! 
For me all that is good and great in the world is 
contained in ' Quits ' ! " We transmitted the message 
in a modified form to Tautphoeus, who said at once, 
" Ich weiss schon ! dass ist wieder meine Mutter " (I 
know that is my mother again). In fact, his mother 
must be a great help to him in English society. We 
danced and had supper pleasantly enough. 

On Friday we had music and supper at the Susanni's 
again. The wonderful tenor, Alocci, was there. I am 
afraid he is what Mrs. Lawrence calls flirtatious^ for 
now that I have spoken to him so much about his 
voice he makes eyes at me while he is singing *' Non 
posso vivere senza di te ! " which is almost the only 
thing he knows. It is a nuisance, but you cannot 
snub a man who has such a voice, particularly when he 
declares himself ready to come to your house and sing 
at any time anything that you wish ! 

Grisi was not there, which was a comfort, neither 
was Mrs. Lawrence, which was quite the reverse. She 
had done all she could to be invited, for she is as wild 
about Alocci, the Sicilian tenor, as we are, and was 
much disgusted with the Susanni for not asking her. 
We came home after midnight. 



FLO ENCE 237 

We thought our carnival was over, at Florence, at Feb. 24. 
least — for we are thinking of going to Milan for the 
carnavalone — but Mrs. Lawrence asked us to the 
great Veglione, or masked ball, at the Pergola, with a 
supper in her box after midnight, as is the Italian 
custom. I have always wished to go to a masked ball 
since Mme. Peruzzi told me how she had mystified 
her husband at one of them. She dropped him at the 
theatre rather late, pretending that she was going 
straight home, but a friend was waiting for her by ap- 
pointment with a domino in a house close by, and they 
soon joined the crowd in the Pergola. She got hold of 
Peruzzi, and disguising her voice, as masks do, began 
talking about herself, criticising many of her ways, 
and especially pitying him for having such a talkative 
wife, ** un vrai moulin a paroles," he must get so dread- 
fully tired at times ! He took it all very quietly, 
" Non, ^a m'amuse, ^a m'amuse ! " Afterwards she 
passed on to other subjects, showing such an intimate 
knowledge of their ways of life that he got quite 
alarmed, and so anxious to make out who she was that 
at last she had to lift a corner of her mask to reassure 
him ! Now that sort of thing must be amusing, and 
besides, it is stupid to live in Italy and not know what 
a masked ball really is like, for of course sitting quietly 
in a box and looking on, as I have done at Turin, does 
not teach you much. I therefore hired a black 
domino for 25 frs., got a hideous black mask, and 
determined to try the experiment. On the whole I 
do not regret it, for it was something quite new, if not 
very pleasant. We arrived after midnight, and Mrs. J. 
and I went down together in dominos, followed by 
our respective husbands. We lost them almost directly, 
however, and had to hold our own amongst the 



238 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

crowd. Mrs. J. could manage the high falsetto voice 
in which masks speak very well, and talked away 
boldly, but I did not succeed in it at all, and dare not 
open my mouth for fear of being recognised. The 
tutoiement, and the rather rough exhortations to 
speak out, were novel and slightly alarming ! " Eh ! 
bien beau masque, es tu muet ^ As tu laisse ta langue 
a la maison } II valait mieux y laisser ton domino 
et apporter ta langue avec toi," &c. At last I 
got hold of Aminoff, who knew me instantly and 
walked me about very kindly, trying to encourage 
me to speak. He took me to Mrs. Kuhn's box to 
see if I could get on better out of the crowd, and 
there I managed to intriguer Mrs. Kuhn, with whom I 
generally talk English. After a time Aminoff came 
back : " Comment, elle ne vous a pas encore reconnue ? 
Allons nous en vite alors ! " As we came into the 
pit again M. de la V. came up. " Ah ! vous avez le 
petit domino muet ; donnez le moi un peu, je verrai si 
je peux le faire parler." As he has lately arrived I do 
not know him much, and besides, I was beginning to 
manage my voice better, so he could not make me out 
at all, although he told me that I was " une fille 
d' Albion, et une femme mariee ! " At last he offered 
me a supper, but I told him I was already engaged, 
and as he was getting rather warm I made a rush for 
our box, which we were passing, and left him there. 
Of course he could not follow me into the box, but 
he asked Russell, who was one of our party, and who 
was outside, if he knew who that domino was. 
Russell of course assured him he had not the slightest 
idea. We had supper after this very gaily, and 
Russell asked me to go down again to a box where we 
could see a party of colleagues. C. was against it, as he 



FLORENCE 239 

said I should find it all very different after supper ; but 
Russell promised not to leave me, and assured me de 
la V. had been completely intrigue^ so I ventured. C. 
was quite right : no sooner had we got into the box, 
which was full of people we knew quite well, than 
Russell was turned out : " Tu es un homme toi ; nous 
ne voulons pas d'hommes ici." 1 got away as soon as 
I could and managed to get upstairs again, wishing I 
had listened to C.'s advice, and rested on my anti- 
supper laurels. So there you have my adventures. 

I. think I must have already mentioned our plan of Feb. 24. 
going to Milan for the carnav alone ^ as they call the 
three extra days of carnival they have there. They 
say Sant Ambrogio gave it to them. Why, does not 
clearly appear ; but the fact remains that when you 
can no longer dance or amuse yourself in all Italy, 
you can go to Milan and have three days more dissi- 
pation there. In Turin people used to make up 
parties and go over for the carnavalone. None of our 
colleagues are going this year, but our friend Senatore 
Count Taverna has urged us very much to make the 
excursion, promising to arrange everything for us. 

I must now try and tell you about Milan before I Florence, 
get into the life here again. We arrived there on 
Wednesday morning, and spent the day in making 
arrangements and calling on various people. Thursday, 
Taverna came early to show us over the Casa Poldi,^ 
a palace furnished in the most magnificent style, full 
of bric-a-brac and curiosities, all chosen with the 
most exquisite taste, and a few beautiful pictures — 
a lovely Botticelli, some Luinis, &c. We could 
hardly tear ourselves away from it all to go to the 
Corso. Taverna took us to Casa Arese, a large and 
^ Now a museum. 



240 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

apparently uninhabited palace in the midst of the big 
thoroughfare, Corso Venezia, from which we were to 
see the throwing of the coriandoli. We had been 
warned to put on our oldest and shabbiest garments, 
and certainly the first impression of the numerous 
and choice society assembled there to meet Prince 
Umberto ^ was a strange one. The whole company 
from the Prince downwards looked like millers, so 
bepowdered were they with coriandoli. The day was 
splendid, all the windows open, and at each window 
a large basket of coriandoli with ladles for throwing 
them. These were being constantly replenished by 
facchini^ who kept carrying up heavy sacks of the 
nasty little soft plaster balls, that get crushed and 
make abominable stains. They told us what each of 
the big sacks that were constantly being carried up 
cost, and it was calculated that about i,ooo frs. worth 
had been used that day. It is quite literally jeter de 
r argent par la fen^tre^ but it is very amusing. Woe 
to any nice bonnet or hat that was still black that 
passed Casa Arese that day ; the Prince would give 
the signal, showering coriandoli with great gravity 
and unerring precision, and then came a regular /^« de 
file from all the windows as the unlucky victims 
passed on. Despite all the furniture in linen covers, 
the odd costumes, and apparent sans gene^ for all the 
gentlemen had le cigarre aux dents and their hats 
on, one always felt somehow that one was in the best 
society. I had hardly been presented to Arese's 
daughter, the Marchesa Palavicini, who was doing the 
honours, than I found myself in the arms of Mme. 
Jacini, my Viareggio friend, whom I was delighted to 
see again. Then there was the Marchesa d'Adda, 
^ Prince of Piedmont, eldest son of King Victor Emanuel. 



FLORENCE 241 

another old acquaintance, whose husband had been 
Prefect of Turin, and Taverna introduced his Milanese 
relations, so that we did not feel at all lonely. About 
four. Prince Umberto departed, and the word was 
given in Milanese dialect all along the windows, 
"Attention al Princip." If he had gone out by the 
front door he would have been well pelted, but he 
escaped by some back way. By this time the streets 
were getting quieter, and we walked back to the hotel 
— no one uses carriages on these days — -just in time 
to get ready to go and dine at the Villamarinas', old 
Turin friends. After dinner back to the hotel to 
dress for the opera at the Scala. Taverna had brought 
us the key of the d'Adda box, one of the best in the 
house. Lady Annabella Noel, whom I must have 
told you about, a granddaughter of Lord Byron's, 
had wanted us to go with her to the Scala, but we 
did not think it would be fair to Taverna, who was 
taking so much trouble about us, so she finally agreed 
to come in the d'Adda box with us in order to be 
together. The Scala on a night like that is a magni- 
ficent sight, and I would willingly have ended my 
evening there, but we were hurried off to a ball at the 
Marchesa Trivulzio's, Taverna's mother-in-law, where 
the Prince of Piedmont was to be. Taverna had 
actually got us an invitation for another ball that night, 
but it was impossible to do so much. The Marchesa 
is a sister of our Marchesa Lajatico, in Florence, the 
mother of all the Corsinis. They are both very 
remarkable old ladies, and Mme. Trivulzio looks 
quite beautiful in spite of her grey hair, and is always 
most richly and appropriately dressed. She has a 
majestic figure, and is tres grande dame with most 
agreeable manners. Her apartment in the Casa 

17 



242 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

Trivulzio Is quite a museum, full of priceless anti- 
quities of every kind, and it was curious to see the 
cream of Milanese society dancing and flirting in a 
gallery from the walls of which stern Mantagnas and 
sacred pictures by other masters looked down in 
strong contrast with the scene below them. It really 
was a wonderful sight, such lovely women, such beauti- 
ful dresses ! The Duchesse Litta was there all in 
white, with a splendid diamond star glittering in her 
dark hair. She is une beaute de grande toilette^ 
and certainly makes an immense effect. When she 
comes into her box at the Scala, all the other women 
seem to fade in some way, and one can only look at 
her ! Then there was the lovely Comtesse AUemania 
in blue, and her still prettier sister the Comtesse Cusani 
in red, both fair-haired beauties. Then Mme. Jacini, 
who is dark and very handsome. The little Palavi- 
cini has a regular, rather inanimate face, which was 
quite encadrie with diamonds, alternate stars, and ears 
of corn in brilliants done into her hair all round. 

The dancing went on in rather a narrow gallery, 
which was very crowded. In an adjoining room tea 
and cakes were spread on a large table, and Mme. 
Trivulzio made tea with her own hands for any one 
who chose to come and sit down. There were no other 
refreshments as far as I could see, and I was much 
edified by this simplicity, for at Florence you must 
have a buffet, if not a supper, for the simplest dance, 
and people ask for things^ whether they are there or 
not ! At about one, a kind of buzz announced " II 
Princip." The old Marchesa very composedly finished 
pouring out a cup of tea and then advanced three or 
four steps to meet him. He shook hands with her, 
begged her to ask the ladies to sit down again, and no 



FLORENCE 243 

more particular notice was taken of him. Of course 
there were always people about him to see after him, 
and you were supposed to look out so as not to run 
against him, but otherwise he was left very much to 
his own devices. As you may imagine, we were pretty 
well tired when we got to bed that night. 

Saturday was the last day of the coriandoli and of 
the carnavalone. We went again to Casa Arese, where 
the Prince was already installed and in full activity. 
C. had been rather making speeches about vornehme 
Langsweile (distinguished boredom), and told me he 
would just take me upstairs and then go and walk about 
on his own hook. After I had been there some time 
I really thought he had gone, and said something to 
that effect — " M. de Bunsen parti ! mais non, madame, 
vous n'avez qu'a regarder. Le voila a la fenetre, tres 
occupe a Jeter des coriandoli." It really was so, and 
he was apparently enjoying himself immensely, so I 
established myself at another window, and soon got 
quite into the spirit of the thing. For partner at my 
basket I had old Count Oldofredi, who reminded me of 
Turin in the G. time. He told me Nadine and Leon 
were living very happily together, with a steadily 
increasing family, which I was very glad to hear. An 
old and very stately servant came to arrange the 
cushion on the window-sill, and I was amused to see 
that he waited to watch the effect of one of my hits, 
which was really very successful, as the shower of 
coriandoli fell on the right head. He could not refrain 
from expressing his approbation, " ma benissimo." 
Rather a clever trick was played on the Prince that day. 
Three men took up their station right underneath his 
balcony and began to read a newspaper. Of course 
the Prince could not stand this bravado ; showers of 



244 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

coriandoli were bestowed on them in vain, and at last 
he emptied the whole basket on their heads. This was 
what they wanted ; they took out little bags they had 
brought with them, picked up the coriandoli all round 
so as to fill them, looked up at the balcony and nodded 
thanks, and went ofF to pelt others in their turn. 

That night there was a Court ball, and we were told 
we ought to go to see the salle des cariatides in the 
Palace, which is very celebrated. On our arrival one 
of the maitres des cirimonies took me a long way down 
the ball-room and gave me a seat. When I had time 
to look about me, I soon perceived that I was much 
too far from the place where the Court would be, so I 
got up by myself and went to take a chair in the 
second row, which was much better. When I think of 
it I feel a certain satisfaction, as it was rather a plucky 
thing to do. The Marquis de Breme, grand maitre de 
la Cour^ saw and recognised me, apparently with some 
astonishment, as there were no other diplomats from 
Florence. He came up and made conversation for 
some time, which was pleasant, as I had had to leave 
C. outside and knew nobody. Mme. Ratazzi arrived, 
and took her place apart and prominent as femme de 
collier de V Annunziata. After a time Prince Umberto 
came in ; we all rose and curtsied and the ball began. 
It was very hot, with a perfect forest of wax candles 
over our heads. I felt as if I was suffocating, and dare 
not go off with Taverna, who came to the rescue, as I 
was afraid C. would never find me again should I leave 
the ball-room. In process of time he did come to look 
after me, told me I was a goose not to have gone 
sooner, and took me away. I was afraid we should 
have to go about like M. and Mme. Ratazzi, who 
alwavs walk arm in arm ; but that does not suit C.'s 



FLORENCE 245 

ways at all, and he soon made me over to la Rovere, 
whom we chanced to meet. La Rovere was extremely 
nice, and showed me the Palace, &c., but soon confided 
to me that he was lodging with his brother, who is 
en garni son at Milan, that his brother had the house- 
key in his pocket, and that if he did not go home with 
him he would be shut out. He would not hear of 
leaving me alone, however, so we set off in search of C, 
which, considering the crowd, was rather like looking 
for a needle in a bundle of hay. It was long before we 
came across him, and I can only hope poor La Rovere 
found his brother in time. 

On Sunday it rained, as I have said, and there was no 
Corso. We went to see the Trivulzio collections, and 
passed a delightful hour with the old Marchesa. She 
told us of all her anxieties during the troublous times 
when she was a widow, and her only son had escaped 
to Turin to enter the Piedmontese army, which did 
not make her position easier with the Austrian rulers. 
For years she dared not leave the house for a day with 
the responsibility upon her of all the treasures it 
contains, and often she had had them packed all ready 
for removal should that come to be a necessity. 

The other day a member of one of the great Jewish 
banking houses had seen the collection, and had offered 
her 150,000 frs. for three articles — a sort of illu- 
minated alphabet painted for a little Duke of Milan, 
the son of Ludovico il Moro (they have two more ot 
his lesson-books, and all three are gems), a cassetta^ and 
something else. All these wonders are kept in a large 
glass case with a key of gold, which she always wears 
on a chain. She was not at all pleased at the offer. 
" Ces gens la avec leur argent croient qu'ils peuvent 
tout avoir ! " The large Holy Family by Mantegna is 



246 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

unique, it seems, as Mantegna so seldom painted life- 
sized pictures. Eastlake wanted very much to have it 
for the National Gallery, and as her affairs were in 
great disorder during her son's minority, she was afraid 
she would have to part with it, and fixed the price 
at 600,000 frs. So much he would not give, but 
Layard used often to come and inquire about the 
picture and try to bargain for it. " Mais vous voyez," 
she said with a just pride, " que j'ai reussi a le 
conserver." She is a very grand old lady. The 
Mantegna itself I do not much care about, as it is 
rather harsh, but I have no doubt it is most valuable 
and important. I am sure W. must have heard of the 
coins of Casa Trivulzio, for they are celebrated. 

I forget which morning it was that poor Count 
Taverna arrived at the hotel in a great state of mind, 
so full of regrets and excuses that at first we could not 
make out what had happened. At last it appeared 
that some of his Corsini cousins had arrived from 
Florence unexpectedly for the carnavalone ; the 
family resources had of course been taxed to provide 
them with boxes and invitations, and it had really not 
been possible for him to secure a box for us at the 
Scala for the evening ! We were quite relieved to hear 
that was all, and were able to reassure him completely, 
as we had promised to go with Lady Annabella that 
evening, and did not even hint that we might have 
survived a night at Milan without going to the opera ! 
Italians are wonderfully kind and devoted when they 
once take to you. It is really touching to think of the 
care and trouble Taverna lavished on us, and we 
certainly owe him a lovely time, as our American 
friends here would say. 



CHAPTER XIII 

Marriage of Madame Marguerite to Prince of Piedmont — Arrival of 
Crown Prince of Prussia — Reception at English Legation — 
Entry of Prince and Princess of Piedmont — Reception at 
Capponi — Crown Prince visits German Deaconesses' School 
— Reception at Corsini Palace. 

THE spring of 1868 was marked in Italy by the 
marriage of the King's eldest son, the Prince 
of Piedmont,! to his cousin, Madame Marguerite de 
Savoie,2 daughter of his uncle, the late Duke of Genoa, 
and the Duchess his wife, a Saxon princess. The mar- 
riage was hailed with delight by the whole country, and 
great preparations were made, as well at Turin, the old 
capital of the House of Savoy where the ceremony was 
to take place, as in Florence, the new capital of Italy, 
which was most anxious to receive the bridal pair with 
all possible magnificence and rejoicing. 

I had not seen Madame Marguerite since the capital 
had been moved from Turin to Florence, but had 
constantly had news of her through Mdlle. A., who 
paid us frequent visits. It was a great joy to think 
of the splendid future suddenly opening out before 
the young Princess, who had lived till then such a 
quiet and secluded life, either at Stresa on the Lago 

^ Afterwards King Umberto. 

^ The Regina Margherita, now the adored Queen Mother of 
Italy. 

247 



248 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

Maggiore, or at the Palazzo Ducale at Turin. We 
were looking forward with intense interest to the 
arrival of the bridal pair in Florence, and also to that 
of our Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia,^ 
who, with a brilliant suite, was to be present at the 
wedding ceremonies. The coming of the hero of 
Sadowa, who had been so instrumental in bringing 
about the re-union of Venice to Italy in 1866, was 
hailed with enthusiasm by the whole country. 

The delight the fian^ailles of Prince Umberto and 
Madame Marguerite have occasioned in all Italy is 
wonderful ! C. expressed it very justly and prettily 
in a letter to Abeken, his old friend at the Foreign 
Office in Berlin, saying that the news had spread 
like a Fruhlingshauch (a breath of spring) through 
the land. The Princess has led such a retired life till 
now at Turin that there was no portrait of her to be 
found at Berlin, and the one C. sent to Abeken has been 
in great request at Court and everywhere, as people 
wanted to see what the future Queen of Italy was like. 

Madame Marguerite is supposed to have said after 
her engagement : *' Je suis tres fiere de n'avoir pas a 
changer de nom." Of course, all the marriage cere- 
monies are being discussed, and the great question is 
whether we, here in Florence, shall have to wear 
trains or not. The wives of the Chefs de Mission, 
who go to Turin for the wedding, which takes place 
there, must have trains, both for the ceremony itself 
and for the presentation afterwards to the newly- 
made Princess of Piedmont, but will they be required 
for the reception files here ? This is a question which 
is exercising many minds at present. 

'^ Afterwards Emperor Frederick HI. 




GIANDUJA EXTRESSING HIS SATISFACTION AT THE ROYAL WEDDING. 



To face p. 249.] 



FLORENCE 249 

Garibaldi has expressed his approbation of the 
marriage and his wish to send Madame Marguerite 
a bouquet of wild flowers from Caprera. As he is not 
at present on the best terms with the royal family, 
this is a very satisfactory sign. Poor Gianduja also, 
who stands for the representative Piedmontese, is 
supposed to approve highly. There is quite a pretty 
drawing of him, in his three-cornered hat, holding the 
portraits of the two sposi^ and saying in his dialect 
that he is so pleased at their marriage that he has 
forgotten all his grievances (change of capital to 
Florence, &c.). 

The Princess is well and happy; the marriage is 
to take place in less than a month now. She will 
probably make her entry into Florence on the last 
day of April, and stay here the whole month of May. 
It is said that the Crown Prince of Prussia is coming 
to the wedding festivities, in which case we shall 
have much more to do than we anticipated. 

Blanche came this morning to try on my dresses, 
which look quite hopeful so far. The one for the 
tournament is in faille gris perle^ with a paletot to 
match trimmed with point d'Argentan. Bonnet of 
white tulle with a chou of grey satin. Then I have a 
Watteau dress, light blue satin tunic over white tulle, 
trimmed with little black satin cocottes and bows. In 
the hair a chou of blue satin with a black aigrette 
and a branch of pink flowers. Don't exclaim ! The 
idea is that of a dress Worth made this winter for 
a most elegant American, and you have no notion 
how knowing the little cocottes look ! The other ball 
dress is all white, with bunches of white lilac. 

Madame Marguerite is married. The salute was fired April 23. 
here, and that is all we know about it so far. 



250 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

I have been very busy seeing after my dresses, which 
are not finished yet, and getting ail sorts of odds and 
ends. In short, as Mme. Osten-Sacken said the other 
day : " II faudrait se commander un petit trousseau si 
on veut tout avoir neuf ! " Without going so far as 
that, there are plenty of things which are absolutely 
necessary. Then seeing about a carriage, which is also 
a necessity. Four hundred francs for the eight days ! 
" J'en gemis " every time I think of it, and yet Mrs. 
Hardman is boasting loudly of having secured one 
for seventy francs a day, and people are now asking 
a hundred. 

Our Consul here, Schmitz, is also rather groaning, 
as he has been making many preparations with a view 
to the arrival of our Crown Prince, whom he knows, 
having done the honours of Florence to him and the 
Crown Princess some years ago. He has bought 
a new carriage, new harnesses, new liveries for all his 
servants, and a new uniform for himself! 

Count Usedom will travel with the Crown Prince 
from Turin, of course, and C. and Schmitz will receive 
him here at the station. I quite long sometimes to 
have all this bustle over and be quietly with you all, 
as I hope to be this summer ! 

I have just been interrupted by a visit from 
Mdlle. A. with all the accounts from Turin of the 
royal wedding. Madame Marguerite was beautiful 
in a pink dress for the contrat. At the marriage 
ceremony she wore all the Crown diamonds. She is 
reported to have said when it was all over : " On ne 
peut pas bien sauter dans cette toilette la, sans cela je 
sauterais de joie ! " From this she appears to be 
well and in high spirits. 

Yesterday our Crown Prince arrived, and I want 



FLORENCE 251 

to write to you while the impression is still fresh in 
my mind. B. has been begging hard for some time 
past to see *' son Prince a elle," so I suggested to C. 
that we should take the child to the railway-station 
to see the arrival. Arnim from Rome was already 
there, with his handsome, disagreeable face, and a 
cloak over his splendid uniform. Poor Schmitz 
seemed to feel very queer in his new one, made for 
the occasion, and looked as if he did not half like it. 
There was a great crowd of officials with Ginori, the 
Sindaco of Florence, the Prefetto, General Cadorna, 
who commands the town, and numbers of officers 
and aides-de-camp. A small group of Prussians was 
there also, amongst whom a Herr von Unruhe, one 
of the heroes of the late war, who had both his legs 
all but shot off at Sadowa. He was saved from 
amputation by a kind of miracle, and is here for his 
health ; he looks very wan and small, poor fellow, 
but every inch a soldier. Mme. d'Usedom arrived 
with Hildegarde, who is now taller than her mother. 
Soon the whistle of the special train was heard, and 
it puffed slowly into the station. The Italian officers 
in attendance descended first from the saloon carriage, 
then came the Prince, and we saw his full height and 
splendid figure as he got down. He shook hands 
with the Countess, who executed an energetic curtsey, 
her dress coming down with a kind of flop. She then 
presented Hildegarde and me. The Prince put out 
his hand, which I did not expect, being accustomed to 
the Italian etiquette, but the nice, kindly pressure made 
my heart warm to him at once. The authorities were 
introduced, and then he spoke to C. and to Unruhe, 
who was quite in the background, but whom he singled 
out at once. Schmitz, who was standing by me, was 



252 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

enchanted with the few gracious words : " Wier sind 
ja alte Freunden ; meine Frau hat sehr oft von Ihnen 
gesprochen " (We are old friends ; my wife has 
often spoken of you). Then the Prince moved on 
to the Court carriages with the red liveries that stood 
awaiting him outside, and before we could scramble 
into ours he had long gone, so that we could not judge 
of the reception the crowd gave him. At Turin 
and everywhere till now he has been enthusiastically 
received. " L'eroe di Sadowa ! II liberatore d'ltalia! " 
(The hero of Sadowa ! The liberator of Italy !), &c. 
They say he can hardly speak of it himself without 
emotion. Schmitz drove us home, as our dearly 
bought grandeur only begins to-morrow. 

We have just returned from Lady Paget's party 
in honour of the Crown Prince, which was very select. 
H.R.H. dined at the English Legation, and we had 
been asked to go early. We came about nine, and 
found Hildegarde hovering about the entrance, not 
liking to go in alone. The servant showed us into 
the empty drawing-room, for the company was still 
at dinner. Presently the doors were thrown open, 
and we had a full view of them all sitting at 
table. It was rather awkward ; Lady Paget was 
occupied with the Prince, and did not come forward. 
I forgot to curtsey till Mme. d'Usedom asked ener- 
getically, " Why don't you boh? " and then it was too 
late, as the Prince had turned to speak to somebody. 
Altogether I am afraid I made a mess of my entree^ 
but I don't think it mattered. C. had to go and 
speak to the Prince about some people who wish to 
be presented, and he talked so nicely with him, 
playing all the time with C.'s little string of orders. 
Mme. d'Usedom presented Hildegarde a second time, 



FLORENCE 253 

but did not trouble about me any more. It was of 
no consequence, however, for later in the evening, 
when Lady Paget brought the Prince into the 
tea-room, he came up to me and said in English, 
" I must seize this opportunity of introducing myself 
to you," and began talking very pleasantly. It did 
not last long, as Lady Paget called him to take his 
tea, but the manner was most gracious and charming. 
It was very pretty to watch Lady Paget with the 
Prince ; she is nee Comtesse Hohenthal, and was maid 
of -honour to his wife. She was, in fact, married to 
Sir Augustus Paget from their house. She is very 
lovely, with a tall, graceful figure, and was dressed 
in white gaze de Chambery^ with a little short lace 
apron tucked up at the sides en ■paniers. I wore my 
blue and black Watteau, which, however odd the 
description may sound, looks exquisite, in my opinion, 
with the black edging separating the blue satin from 
the soft tulle skirts. Mme. d'Usedom was in white 
broche^ with gold, and heavy gold fringes. Lady 
Paget hovered about the Prince the whole time, present- 
ing people to him, pulling forward armchairs for him 
to sit on, and giving him his tea, with such a pretty 
mixture of affection and respect. She introduced our 
friends, Mr. and Mrs. Tottenham, most particularly 
to H.R.H., and he talked to them so nicely. It is 
really worth serving such a Prince, and I agree with 
Schmitz that the Italians must envy us having 
him. I had a visit from Mdlle. A. to-day, half 
frantic with delight. The King had sent for her, 
wishing to tell her himself how enchanted he was 
with Madame Marguerite. On arriving at the Palace 
she came across our Crown Prince, and Usedom 
presented her. The Prince spoke in glowing terms 



254 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

of Madame Marguerite. " Sie wird eine glanzende 
Rolle spielen " (She will play a brilliant part). " Sie 
ist die schonste lieben-wurdigste Prinzessin in Europa " 
(She is the most beautiful and amiable Princess in 
Europe). You may imagine what were our friend's 
emotions in hearing such praise of her beloved pupil. 
Then she went in to the King, who enlarged on the same 
theme. " J'en ai pas mal vu des princesses et des 
reines, mais quelquechose comme Marguerite jamais ! 
Elle a un aplomb, elle traverse tout un salon, elle 
parle a droite et a gauche, en Anglais, en Fran^ais, 
en Italien, en Allemand, comme vous I'avez bien 
elevee ! " All accounts agree on that point : the 
Princess does not seem to know what shyness is, and 
is, moreover, full of happiness. When people at Turin 
pitied her for all the fatigue she had to undergo, she 
replied, " Comment peut-on se fatiguer quand on 
s'amuse tant ? " After the marriage, on leaving 
the Cathedral, her mother, the Duchess of Genoa, 
presented her to the King as his daughter now ! She 
threw herself at his feet, and when he raised her, 
embracing her rapturously, she said, " Ah ! Sire, 
puisque vous etes si bon pour moi, permettez que je 
ne vous appelle plus Sire, mais mon pere ! " All these 
charming things come to her quite naturally. 

Mme. Menabrea ^ told me she took such pains to 
show herself to the people at Turin, who were con- 
tinually shouting in Piedmontese for " La spouza ! la 
spouza ! " People say all the enthusiasm at Turin was 
for her and for our Prince. He, however, whenever 
he was with the royal family, persistently ignored the 
most marked applause and never seemed to imagine it 
was addressed to himself. I tell you all these things 
' Wife of the Prime Minister. 




DppJ^TURE OF ROYAL PROCESSION' FROM THE CASCINE, 




PAIAZZO PITTI. 



To face p. ::55.] 



FLORENCE 255 

just as I remember them, one hears of little else. The 
Princess is at Castello this evening, the last station 
before Florence, where there is a royal villa. To- 
morrow she makes her grand entrance couronne en i^te. 
All her Florentine ladies meet her at the Cascine. 
What a change it must be to her, after her rather 
monotonous life at Turin, to find herself the centre 
of everything, the first lady in the land ! 

C. is out, dining with our delightful Crown Prince, April 30. 
and so I cannot go to see the illuminations. From the 
windows I can just see the Pitti Palace glowing in lines 
of fire, and the tower of the Signoria traced in light 
against the sky, and unless C. comes back soon that is 
all I am likely to behold. Madame Marguerite, or 
rather, the Princess of Piedmont, made her entry into 
Florence this morning, a vision of youth and grace and 
beauty. The cortege was preceded by the new Cent 
Gardes^ who look very well ; then came the really 
magnificent glass coach that has just been built at 
Milan. The front seat was piled with enormous 
bouquets and heaps of flowers. At the back sat 
Prince Umberto, his dark head, much embroidered 
uniform, and the broad ribbons of his orders, making 
a strong contrast to his fair-haired bride all in white. 
Of the famous crown I saw nothing, not having time 
to take note of it, but people said her hair was full of 
diamond marguerites. Her shoulders were bare, and 
she looked a little flushed, but pleased and interested as 
she went along bowing continually. The crowd clapped 
her according to Florentine custom, for here they never 
shout. After the sposi came a very grand state carriage, 
all painted and gilt and quite empty. Then a quieter 
one, with Prince Amadeo, Duke of Aosta, the Prince 
de Carignan, and the little Duke of Genoa, brother of 



256 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

the bride. Then followed the six Florentine ladies 
in full toggery, with their bare necks and jewels, 
smothered in bouquets, and looking rather hot and 
bored. There were two ladies in each carriage, with 
aides-de-camp and maitres des ceremonies to fill up. 
The whole cortege was magnificent. All the horses 
had their manes plaited with silver, like in Rome, 
and the harness, carriages, and liveries were perfectly 
splendid. 

When we had seen it all pass, C. hurried off, as he 
had to present the consistoire of the Swiss-German 
Church to our Prince. He returned in a minute, 
however, to say he had just met Mme. d'Usedom, who 
told him the Prince was to go to Villa Capponi about 
five, that we were to be there and to bring B. By 
the time we were ready C. came back well satisfied. 
Usedom had not been forthcoming, so he had to pre- 
sent all the consistoire himself. The Prince had been 
most gracious, and after they were dismissed had 
remained talking with C. of all sorts of things, till 
the Prince Amadeo had arrived to pay a visit. Our 
carriage came in very conveniently, and we drove off 
to Capponi, where everything was beautifully arranged 
and a perfect wealth of roses dispersed in every direc- 
tion. When the royal carriages came in sight there 
was a moment of great bustle, Usedom and C. rushing 
downstairs, the Comtesse screaming to the servants, 
and Arnim laughing. He is not used to her ways, I 
suppose, for he asked me, " 1st Sie immer so } " (Is she 
always like that ?). Mme. d'Usedom took up her posi- 
tion at the door of the great entrance hall upstairs, 
Hildegarde, B. and I in the background. The Prince 
came in tall and stately and bowed. We all bobbed^ 
according to the Comtesse's elegant expression. After 



FLORENCE 257 

speaking to her, he came on to us and asked who the 
little girl was. I explained, and also said how delighted 
she was to see her own Prince. Thereupon he shook 
hands with her most kindly, and then with me and 
Hildegarde, and went on to the terrace, from which the 
view was perfectly enchanting in this exquisite weather. 
B., quite calm and self-possessed, trotted about amongst 
all the gentlemen, flirting in Italian with de Renzis. ' 
Once the Comtesse called her Beatrice very loud, upon 
which the Prince turned to me and asked if that was 
her name. He said it was the name of his youngest 
sister-in-law, who was also his god-daughter as well as 
his wife's. We went on talking, and I showed him 
Vallombrosa in the distance. He asked if the monks 
were still there, and how we were lodged, and if there 
was no " little population." In short, the conversation 
was quite gemuthlich. He stayed till past six on the 
terrace, taking ices and cakes, in which his example 
was closely followed by all his suite, who, having to 
rush about all day, seem always ready and eager for 
any kind of refreshment. Then the Prince walked 
through the rooms again, shook hands with B. and me, 
hoping he should see us again, and took leave of the 
Countess. As we drove along the Lung' Arno we saw 
the heavy folds of the white and black flag that hangs 
from the Prince's windows in the hotel. At the 
Legation we have the white, black, and red flag of the 
Northern Confederation, which looks new and queer. 

C. went this morning to the Crown Prince, who Maya, 
keeps a sort of open house ; anybody coming in about 
breakfast-time being asked to sit down. C, as you 
know, does not approve of extra meals ; however, he 
managed a second breakfast this morning. Just as he 
was taking leave after breakfast, Usedom told him to 



258 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

wait, and asked the Prince's leave to take the "Lega- 
tions-Rath " with them to S. Domenico, where they 
were going to meet the Comtesse. The carriage was 
just moving off, but the Prince caught hold of C.'s arm 
and helped him to jump in. The poor Comtesse had 
been expecting them all the morning, as the Prince was 
to have breakfasted with her at S. Domenico, but just ^ 
as he was starting the King arrived to pay him a visit 
and stayed two hours, so that, as he said in his polite 
way, " Je n'ai pas d'excuses a faire." On their return 
from Fiesole they visited some churches, and C. came 
in for a piece of good luck. He has been looking 
over Florentine history of late with a view to possible 
emergencies, and now came his reward. In the course 
of conversation the Prince asked casually when did 
the last Medici die. Usedom looked nonplussed. 
" Bunsen, do you happen to know.''" "In 1737," 
brought out C. triumphantly. After this he came 
home in very good spirits, and insisted on our going to 
the Cascine to the races. We were late, and arrived 
just as the royalties left the race-ground, and saw them 
all pass before us in the most delightful manner. First 
the King, who was driving with his daughter, the 
Queen of Portugal, who is here for the wedding 
festivities. She was lying back in the carriage looking 
very pretty and delicate, and leaving all the bowing 
business to her father. Her son, the pretty little 
" Infant " of Portugal, was on the front seat. Then 
came the sposi^ Madame Marguerite in a blue dress, 
looking so young and slight by the side of a portly 
dame d'honneur^ who took up more than her fair share 
of the seat. Prince Umberto sat opposite his wife with 
an aide-de-camp. Then our own Crown Prince driving 
with the Duke d'Aosta. He recognised us en passant 



FLORENCE 259 

and gave me a delightful bow, with a bright look of 
recognition. I think you will have perceived that I 
had pretty nearly lost my heart to him already, but 
that bow finished me ! Besides, did he not tell C. 
that he wished he had time to go to Vallombrosa, 
" Ihrer Frau Gemahlin hat eine so reizendo Beschrei- 
bung davon gemacht " (Your wife gave me such a 
charming description of it). The Crown Prince is 
going to the Swiss-German Church to-morrow, Sunday, 
and C. had to give a hint that the sermon should not 
be -too long, or, as an aide-de-camp told him, " Der 
Prinz wird nervos ! " (The Prince gets nervous). 
After church he visits the German Deaconesses' estab- 
lishment, and in the evening we are asked to the Palazzo 
Corsini, on the Lung' Arno, to see the fireworks — the 
King and all the royalties to be there. 

Yesterday, Sunday, C. and I went to the Swiss- 
German Church and found the Crown Prince already 
seated in the front bench. He had come too soon, and 
had to wait nearly ten minutes before the service began; 
the sermon also was not so short as it should have been 
after C.'s hint. After a time I saw the Prince, who 
had been sitting immovable, attending in the most 
edifying manner, begin changing his position a little, 
and felt dreadfully afraid he was getting " nervous." 
However, the sermon did come to an end, and he soon 
walked out amongst the crowd, who made rather a 
rush to see him drive off in the royal carriages to the 
Deaconesses' establishment. We followed and saw 
the whole place — all the classes, all the bedrooms, 
everything exquisitely clean and fresh. The Sisters, 
who are mostly Prussian, were beaming with delight 
and giving themselves infinite trouble to bring in 
" Konigliche Hoheit " every time they answered a 



26o IN THREE LEGATIONS 

question, as is right and proper. I am afraid I am 
rather remiss in that respect, but then H.R.H. always 
speaks English to me. 

Finally, the Prince invited Schwester Ida, the 
Directress, to bring all the children to see the fire- 
works from his windows in the hotel that evening. 
Poor Schwester Ida was quite overpowered. " Aber 
darf man annehmen ? " (Does one dare to accept.''). 
The Prince nodded " Ja, ja ! " and told Lucadow to see 
that the children were received. He went again into 
the large class-room to take leave of them and give his 
invitation himself. Did they all learn German, he 
asked. Yes.'' then he would speak German — he in- 
vited them all to see the fireworks from his windows ; 
did they understand ? They all grinned and nodded 
most decidedly. Then he shook hands with Schwester 
Ida, made me a profound bow, another to B., who 
stood quite still gazing at him, and went off, having 
made a conquest of all hearts there, as you may 
believe. In the afternoon we drove to the Corso di 
Gala, where we had great luck in seeing everything. 
We first came across the Prince and Princess of 
Piedmont stuck fast in the crowd in their grand 
glass coach, Madame Marguerite looking just a little 
pale and anxious, I thought, for there seemed no 
possibility of their getting through the fearful crowd 
that thronged the carriage on all sides. A little further 
on we saw the King and the Queen of Portugal in the 
same predicament, Vittorio looking decidedly "nervos"; 
indeed, we heard that he cut the Jila soon afterwards, 
turned into a side street, and drove off. Later on we 
met the Duchess of Genoa, who recognised us this 
time, and smiled and bowed. Then, on the Lung' 
Arno, our own Prince, who bowed most graciously. 



FLORENCE 261 

After coming to the end of the fila we turned back 
again, and met the great gala carriage with the Prince 
and Princess a second time. We bowed, of course, 
and Madame Marguerite returned the salute mechani- 
cally, like any other. Then a look of remembrance 
seemed to flash across her face, and she bent eagerly 
forward, quite against the window, nodding and smiling 
to B. That smile and look of recognition were worth 
all the heat and fatigue of the Corso. She looked very 
lovely in an ethereal white bonnet, with a blush rose 
at the top and another by way of fastening. I must 
not forget the Grand Duchesse Marie of Russia, who 
also bowed and recognised us, so that our list of 
royalties was complete. It was quite late when we 
got home, and we had just time to get something to 
eat and to dress for the fireworks. 

The Corsini Palace was magnificent. The grand 
staircase and great upper hall, which usually look 
so bare and solitary, were completely transformed, 
brilliantly lighted, carpeted, covered with flowers; 
they were splendid. At the foot of the stairs two 
powdered footmen in gorgeous livery held two 
enormous wax torches higher than themselves. The 
way to the reception-rooms was marked out in the 
hall by a row of large candelabra, and armies of 
servants — some in livery, some in black, but all 
powdered — were there to show the way. A tent had 
been constructed on the terrace for the royal party, 
and in the drawing-room adjoining this we waited. 
We ladies had been told to come in high gowns, but 
without bonnets. The Prince and Princess of Pied- 
mont were the first to arrive. I happened to be in 
a very good place — just behind the row of stiffs, un- 
comfortable gilt chairs which seem to be always pre- 



262 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

pared for royalty — and I could really feast my eyes 
with looking at Madame Marguerite. She is not much 
changed ; taller, of course, but it is the same sweet 
face, the lovely hair and eyes, and every movement, 
every change of expression is charming. She was 
perfectly self-possessed as she came in bowing right 
and left, and then pausing a little before she took 
possession of one of the stiff chairs. She was beauti- 
fully dressed, in white gaze de Chamhery striped with 
green, the body high and cut square in front, and a 
whole parure — locket, pendant, earrings, and brooch 
of the most superb emeralds set in diamonds. Mme. 
Usedom soon bustled up to the Princess. Madame 
Marguerite rose and gave her her hand, whereupon 
the Countess bobbed with a vengeance, very nearly 
coming into collision with the Princess's graceful head. 
She asked H.R.H. to her grand reception at Capponi 
next Wednesday, and Madame Marguerite promised to 
come if she was not quite knocked up. Soon the 
Duchess of Genoa arrived, and mother and daughter 
sat side by side. The King came with the Queen 
of Portugal, who looked languid and graceful, as 
usual, and soon after the royalties moved off into 
their tent, the Duchess of Genoa pushing her daughter 
forward, forcing her with gentle violence to precede 
her. Our Prince was late, and we heard afterwards 
that he had really waited to receive the Deaconesses 
and their children and see them settled. The fire- 
works were nothing particular, the prettiest part of the 
sight being the Arno itself, with all the windows of 
the houses along its banks lighted up and quantities 
of boats with lamps. 




VILLA CAPPONI (now LA PIETRA) 



To face p. 262.] 



CHAPTER XIV 

Dinner at Capponi — Court Ball — Tournament — Reception at 
Capponi for Prince and Princess of Piedmont — Ball at Cascine 
— B.'s presentation — Departure of Prince and Princess of 
Piedmont. 

YESTERDAY there was a dinner at seven at May 4. 
Capponi — a small party, only the Legation to 
meet the Prince and suite. The only outside lady 
asked was the Duchesse Sforza, whom H.R.H. 
knew in Rome. Vittorio had taken our Prince 
out driving, so he had sent a message to say 
he was afraid he should be late — and late he was ! 
I don't envy the poor cook's feelings ! The 
dinner was not very bright at first, for we were 
all exhausted with hunger, I think, excepting the 
Prince, whose powers of bearing heat and fatigue 
appear unrivalled. But then, as de Renzis explained 
to me, " La premiere chose le matin il se met 
un bon biftake dans I'estomac, et apres cela il peut 
faire tout ce qu'en veut." This, of course, strikes 
Italians, who generally breakfast on a cup of black 
coffee at the nearest restaurant. The Prince had taken 
in the Comtesse, and sat between her and the Sforza, 
always insisting on the two ladies being helped before 
him. I fell to Usedom's share, and sat opposite ; but 
there was a great bouquet on the table, which pre- 
vented my seeing anything but the Prince's orders, to 

263 



264 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

my intense disgust. He had on two — one Prussian 
pour le merite and the Italian gold medal, both 
very rare, and won by himself on the field of battle. 
After the champagne Usedom brightened up and 
became paternal and amusing. He has a hard life 
of it at present, for he scarcely likes to let the Prince 
out of his sight. After dinner the Countess called to 
me, " Madame de Bunsen, the Prince is admiring your 
lace " (I had on the famous garniture de Malines over 
green silk). I approached, of course, and H.R.H. 
asked if he might touch it. He took up a bit to 
examine it, but I do not think he knows much about 
it. Then he began telling me about the children and 
the Deaconesses coming to him. " I assure you I got 
quite shy ; the dining-room was already occupied by 
some ladies who had asked to see the fireworks, so 
that when the children arrived I had to take them 
all to my bedroom. There is an alcove, you know, 
and curtains, so it was quite proper ; but still, it was 
rather awkward. Then I wanted them to have some 
cakes and something to drink, and just then the Prince 
de Carignan and the Duke of Aosta came in, and could 
not imagine where all these children came from ! " 
Coffee was served while we were talking, and, as 
usual, a little tray with only one cup on it was brought 
expressly to H.R.H. This he offered to me, not 
choosing to help himself before a lady. Now I have 
heard that at Courts you should never refuse anything 
that comes in your way ; still, help myself out of that 
particular tray I felt to be impossible (it would have 
upset all the arrangements), so I curtsied and thanked, 
and said I did not care for coffee, which was a fib, for I 
regretted not having any. After that an obnoxious 
aide-de-camp came up and put an end to the conver- 



i 




PORTRAIT OF THE CROWN PRINCE OF PRUSSIA, GIVEN BY HIMSELF 
TO C. VON BUNSEN, 1868. 



To face p. 265.] 



FLORENCE 265 

sation, which had been really most pleasant. All the 
gentlemen went to smoke on the terrace in the ex- 
quisite moonlight. Mme. d'Usedom put on a cloak 
and went out too, but as neither the Duchess Sforza, 
nor Miss Malcolm, nor Hildegarde followed her ex- 
ample, I did not like to leave them, and so we had 
a long, dull evening. Hardly any of the gentlemen 
came near us, and the Prince only came back to say 
goodbye at about midnight. 

To-day we are to be presented officially to the 
Princess of Piedmont at half-past three, and there is 
the Court ball in the evening. To-morrow there is 
the tournament, and the grand reception at Capponi 
in the evening. 

I have let two days pass without writing, and hardly May 7. 
know how I am to continue my journal ; there is so 
much to say, and I am so done up with fatigue. Our 
presentation to the Princess of Piedmont did not take 
place after all. She had a bad cold, and had to keep 
in bed all day in order to be present at the Court ball. 

In the evening I dressed quietly for the Court ball. 
C. dined with the Crown Prince and came back quite 
touched with his kindness — that is, however, our 
habitual state of mind, but on this occasion he had 
given him a beautiful large coloured photograph of 
himself, with the signature Frederick Wilhelm, and the 
date, Florence, 1868. It is a perfect likeness, so that 
you may imagine that it is a real treasure and remem- 
brance of some of the most interesting days in our 
lives. The Court ball was fearfully hot, and we had 
to wait quite unusually long before the royalties 
appeared. It was the first time I saw the Crown 
Prince in uniform, in which he looks splendid. He 
danced with the Princess of Piedmont and the Duchess 



266 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

of Genoa. It is charming to see our Prince with 
Madame Marguerite, he is so chivalrous in his man- 
ner to her, and she looks so bright, and evidently enjoys 
his conversation. After a time she got up from her 
place and came over to talk with the diplomatic ladies ; 
she recognised me, and I bobbed^ then she came and 
talked to me over the chairs. " Comment va, Bibiche.? 
Je Tai reconnue I'autre jour au corso," &c. I 
asked how she was. " Oh ! ce n'est rien, trop 
de strappazze [fatigue], voila tout." Presently the 
Duchess of Genoa came round, and she also talked 
to me. One interesting episode of the ball was the 
Crown Prince presenting Unruhe and another Prus- 
sian lieutenant who had been in the war to the King. 
He looked so grand and stately, presenting them as if 
they had been his children, and they went through the 
ordeal very well, in a simple, manly fashion, conscious 
of that powerful support. A few minutes after this 
had taken place a lady next me told me Bernhardi 
wished to speak to me. Bernhardi is by no means a 
favourite at the Legation, where he goes by the name 
of old man^ and I could not imagine what he could 
possibly have to say to me. He came, however, in 
his joy to tell me he was sure I would be glad to hear 
the King had promised a decoration, not only to 
Unruhe, but to two other Prussians ! It seems the 
other lieutenant, who had just been presented, is here 
with a friend, and they generally go about together, 
but having only one dress uniform between them, 
drew lots as to who was to wear it to-night. The 
Prince was somehow informed of this, and not wishing 
the other poor fellow to lose so much by not coming 
to the ball, asked for a decoration for him also. I really 
was glad, and have felt more kindly to old man ever 





s < 

D Z 



H S 



< 



« ? 



FLORENCE 267 

since for being so sure of my sympathy on the occa- 
sion. Unruhe told me, when he called on me some 
time ago, poor fellow, that he had served under the 
Crown Prince in the Prussian-Austrian War, and that 
he was looking forward with such delight to his 
coming here. I remember thinking at the time that 
I hoped it would be a pleasure to him, but that I did 
not imagine, from my notion of princes, he was likely 
to see much of him ; but he knew his Prince, whereas 
I did not ! 

Yesterday, Wednesday, was a dreadful day. Torneo 
in the afternoon and grand reception at the Villa 
Capponi in the evening ! The weather was hot and 
muggy^ and rain fell occasionally in the morning, to 
my great annoyance, for I wanted to put on my dress 
made expressly for the occasion ! After much hesita- 
tion I did put it on and was rewarded, for after a few 
drops of rain when we first set out the weather cleared. 
The tournament was really a lovely sight. There 
were four different sets of riders from Turin, Milan, 
Florence, and Naples, la fleur des pois of the nobility 
of these great towns in splendid costumes and on 
horses that excited the admiration even of the Aus- 
trians who sat with us. It was so beautiful that I felt 
a dreamy wish it would never stop ! One of the 
figures executed by the Milanese excited universal 
applause. By a series of dexterous manosuvres they 
formed themselves into a perfectly distinct and gigantic 
letter M right across the arena in front of the royal 
box, where sat Madame Marguerite, the centre of all 
this homage. The Duke of Aosta, who directed the 
proceedings in a superb costume as Conte Verde, one 
of the historical names of the House of Savoy, pre- 
sented a bouquet to his fair sister-in-law, which was of 



268 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

so monstrous a size that it required two men to carry 
it. It really was too big to be pretty. 

Capponi was all illuminated, and looked very pretty in 
the evening. C, Count D., and Count Eulenberg were 
at the entrance waiting to receive the royalties and to let 
the Crown Prince know of their arrival, that he might 
come and meet them, as he was doing the honours. 
The rooms were filling fast, and presently Count Eulen- 
berg came in hot haste to call the Prince, as the Prince 
and Princess of Piedmont were there. Madame Mar- 
guerite was looking much better, and passed, bowing 
gracefully, as is her wont, into a sort of inner sanctuary 
reserved for the " Hohe Herrschaften." It was really 
Mme. Usedom's bedroom with all the furniture 
changed and everything beautifully arranged for the 
occasion. Presently our Prince led out Madame Mar- 
guerite, but though way was made for them to pass, 
the rooms were too full to move about in, and the 
Comtesse established the Princess on a sofa in the 
corner of the big drawing-room, and sat me down 
by her. We talked very pleasantly, Madame Mar- 
guerite inquiring, as usual, for " 'Bibiche,' j'espere que 
vous me I'amenerez au moins ! " I told her B. had 
almost cried the day I was dressing for the presenta- 
tion to her (which did not take place) because she 
could not go too. " Eh bien, elle m'a pas oubliee ; c'est 
bien ! " Then she showed me a diamond necklace and 
locket she had on. " C'est joli, n'est ce pas ? C'est la 
garde nationale du royaume qui me I'a donne au- 
jourd'hui." It was so funny to hear her talk in her 
old natural, rather abrupt way. " Je suis bien grandie 
depuis que vous ne m'avez vue, n'est ce pas .f" " I 
thought that was quite charming, coming from her in 
her present position ! As you may imagine, I would 



FLORENCE 269 

have sat and talked on there willingly enough, but 
I saw all eyes fixed upon us, and told the Princess that 
I must not absorb her entirely. " Qu'est ce que je 
dois faire ? Je n'ai jamais ete a une soiree moi, com- 
ment fait on ? " I had certainly been to plenty of 
soirees, but I was not much more au courant of what 
a Princess was expected to do than she was ! Her 
ladies were flirting in the next room. The Countess, 
as I afterwards heard, had lost a splendid pearl and 
diamond earring, and was engaged in looking for it, 
and energetically lamenting its loss. (It was found 
later.) Usedom had disappeared completely from our 
regions. Our Prince was taking care of himself, hold- 
ing his own manfully in the midst of the crowd and 
talking to all. Prince Umberto was doing likewise. 
I was left entirely to my own discretion, and acted 
up to my lights on the occasion. At last we deter- 
mined that I should bring up Mrs. Cadogan, who 
evidently wished to have that honour, having placed 
herself exactly opposite and eyeing the Princess avec 
un sourire de beatitude. As she had been presented 
at the ball the night before, she was quite en regie. 
I went to tell her the Princess wished to speak to her, 
and installed her on the sofa. I then began to look 
for other people to bring up, but found it no easy 
task. Some of the ladies had not been presented yet, 
others were nervous and shy. At last Mdlle. A. 
arrived and sat herself down by Madame Marguerite ; 
so, as she was no longer alone, I went into the next 
room. Later, Mme. d'Usedom reappeared on the 
scene leading the Princess in to supper, presenting 
people to her right and left, and apparently amusing 
her well. Our Prince had his supper too, and in all 
respects the soirh went off brilliantly ; the supper was 



270 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

magnificent, and the whole thing seems to be con- 
sidered a great success. C, who had dined at the 
villa, sat by Jasmund, one of the Prince's officers, 
and had a very interesting conversation, so that all 
had gone off well. 

Yesterday there was only the Cascine ball in the 
evening, and Count Otto advised C. to go to the 
Hotel della Pace towards six, when he would certainly 
be asked to dinner, and so take his leave quietly of all 
the suite. The Crown Prince himself was to dine 
quite alone with the King, only de Renzis waiting 
outside to accompany him back. C. did not quite 
like the idea of asking for a dinner, but it turned 
out to be quite the right thing to do. He was 
instantly invited to stay, and whilst they were still 
at table the Prince came in quite quietly by a side 
door. The first thing C. knew of it was seeing every- 
body stand up. He sat down at the opposite end of 
the long table and began talking. Soon he called out 
in the voice which, despite all politeness, has the ring 
of command in it, " Herr von Bunsen." C. left his 
dessert and came to sit by him, while he spoke about 
several rather delicate negotiations C. had undertaken 
for him, in all of which he has been lucky. Then, 
a propos of something in the conversation, the Prince 
told him several anecdotes of his campaign in Bohemia, 
imitating the people and their way of speaking in a 
most amusing manner. Then they went to smoke, 
and the Prince said he wished for the photographs of 
all the members of the Legation for an album he has 
got. I am to send mine too. When he dismissed 
them he gave them all his royal hand for the first 
time. 

The ball at the Cascine was really beautiful. There 



FLORENCE 271 

was a bal populaire with music on the Piazzone, the 
trees were all illuminated with coloured lamps that 
looked like big transparent fruits, and the whole place 
was like fairyland. Inside the arrangements were very- 
good ; the Corps diplomatique had a place apart behind 
the royal party, from which we could see all that went 
on. The heat was great, but it was quite pretty and 
pleasant. Our Prince, as usual, went about and spoke 
to quantities of people. I got only a bow, which was 
sad, as it was my last time of seeing him ! When the 
royalties went to supper we came away, and got home 
about half-past one. The servants asked permission 
to go and see the Cascine, as all Florence was up and 
there still. It was not worth while for C. to go to 
bed, as he had to be at the station in full uniform 
at four to see the Crown Prince off. So I kept him 
company, and we passed our time talking until he had 
to go off in the grey dawn, looking so odd in uniform 
at that time of day. I would have given a great deal 
to go with him, but it was impossible, of course, as 
none but men were to be there. 

He came back much edified, saying it was all so well 
done, no haste or hurry. The Princes Umberto, 
Amadeo, and Carignan were all there. Our Prince 
had begged them not to come at that early hour, 
but the answer was : " Monseigneur, nous connaissons 
notre devoir ! " He did not forget the Prussians, 
however ; a circle was formed, and the Prince went 
round, beginning with C, to whom he said, " Griissen 
Sie zu Hause." He spoke a few words and shook 
hands with each one, even with the Kanzelist Heckert, 
but only with his own people ! He talked with 
Schweizer, the Baden Minister, and was very gracious, 
but did not give him his hand. Then he went on to 



272 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

the platform, took leave of the Princes, and entered his 
special train, talking and laughing with them till the 
last moment. Usedom and Count Otto go with him 
as far as Genoa, I believe. 

And so he has gone, and the black and white flag no 
longer waves from his windows ; and what with the 
sleepless night and the sudden cessation of the interest 
and excitement one feels quite queer and at a loose 
end. I honestly confess I had not much looked 
forward to his coming, and had no idea what his visit 
would be like. Now his stay here will always be a 
most pleasant and interesting remembrance. The de- 
light of seeing a man nobly filling the high station in 
which God has placed him, never thinking of himself, 
always the same, good-tempered, polite, considerate, 
and kind to everybody. His suite cannot say enough 
in his praise. All through the war in the most anxious 
moments his cheerfulness and nerve never failed him. 
As to the impression he has made here, there is but one 
cry, " Comme vous etes heureux d'avoir un tel Prince ! 
Heureux le pays qui aura un tel roi ! " ^ 
May 9. There is a ball at the Casino this evening, but we 

^ It is pathetic to think of what his short and tragic reign of 
ninety days as Kaiser Frederick III, of Germany really came to, 
twenty years afterwarcfs, in 1888. But he remained the same. 
Prince Hohenlohe, who certainly cannot be accused of sentimen- 
tality, gives a touching description in his Memoirs of his last inter- 
view with his dying sovereign : "As I took leave and tried to 
express my most heartfelt wishes, the Emperor laid his hand on my 
shoulder with such a melancholy smile that it was all I could do to 
restrain tears. He seemed to me like a martyr, and there can, in 
fact, be no worse martyrdom than this slow dying. All who 
approach him are full of admiration of the quiet and courageous 
resignation with which he meets the fate which he clearly sees, and 
which he feels to be inevitable. I must have seen him yesterday 
for the last time." 



FLORENCE 273 

are not going. I must write one of these days to 
the Marquise Montereno, Madame Marguerite's dame 
d'honneur^ to ask for an audience, as the Princess specially 
told me to come and see her and bring B. Apropos of 
this, I must tell you an anecdote of B. Anina, her 
former nurse, came to see her the other day, and B. 
informed her that she was to go and see Madame 
Marguerite. '*E che li dira alia Principessa ?" (What 
will you say to the Princess .?) asked Anina. " Come 
tu sei sciocca," responded the child, " aspettero di 
sentire quello che mi dira la Principessa e poi le 
rispondero " (How silly you are ! I will wait and 
hear what the Princess says to me, and then I will 
answer her !). I think that is quite to the point. 
After this interview I suppose we shall be quite quiet 
until we have to begin to pack for our summer move. 
Just at present everything feels very dull and flat after 
the great excitement of the past week. In one way 
we are thankful to be able to stay at home and eat our 
meals in peace, but we have not yet settled down to 
our ordinary occupations, and feel tired and restless. 

Yesterday I took B. to see the Princess, as Mme. de May 12. 
Montereno had written to appoint an audience at one 
o'clock. I felt just a little nervous, but all went off as 
easily as possible. All the servants in red liveries at 
the Pitti are extremely civil, and we made our way quite 
easily to the Princess's apartment, which is au second^ an 
awful way up. There is first a great antechamber for 
servants, and then another, where the Prince's officiers 
d'ordonnance, &c., were all smoking. This looked 
alarming, but a chambellan came forward and said he 
was afraid Mme. de Montereno was not there yet, but 
would I come into the salon d'attente. This was a 
handsome room, the tables all covered with letters, 

19 



274 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

despatches, and writing materials. There were magni- 
ficent bouquets stuck about and some good furniture. 
B. and I waited there for some time, the chamhellan 
making conversation occasionally. An officier d'ordon- 
nance came in to write a letter, and then another lady 
arrived, who told me she was to have her audience at a 
quarter past one ! Finally the chamhellan^ who had 
peeped several times into the next room, opened the 
door and signified that I was to go in. Inside stood 
Madame Marguerite, who advanced to meet us, embraced 
me, and began kissing B. There was very little 
etiquette. She made me sit beside her on the sofa and 
took B. on her lap, quite regardless of her beautiful 
dress, which was hardly fastened, she said. She had 
been in such a hurry, and excused herself for keeping 
us waiting. She had been out since eight in the 
morning visiting schools, hospitals, &c. " Le Prince 
m'attendait deja pour le sejeuner quand je suis rentree, 
puis j'ai encore en a faire, maintenant j'ai des visites 
jusqu'a trois heures ; j'ai a peine vu mon mari un 
instant." She stopped and smiled, " Cela me semble 
encore si drole de dire mon mari ! " Then she talked 
to B., who sat and gazed at her, " C'est pour moi que 
tu as ces marguerites a ton chapeau, Bibiche .'' " She 
then took out a little chain and locket and fastened 
them round Beatrice's neck : " Je voulais y mettre mon 
portrait, mais je n'ai vraiment pas eu le temps. Je te 
I'enverrai ! " Parting with Mdlle. A. was, she said, 
the only chagrin she had at present, " au reste, je 
suis si heureuse et contente ! " Then she embraced 
me again and the interview was over. The chamber- 
lain must have been very near the door, for no sooner 
did I put my hand on the lock than he opened it, and 
having made my final curtsey I departed. Prince 




MADiaiOlMil.l.K A. 



To Uce 11. 275.] 



FLORENCE 275 

Umberto had joined his officers, and they were all 
smoking together in the antechamber. Of course, I 
had to stop and curtsey to the Prince, who made me a 
very civil bow, and looked sehr human. General Cugia, 
too, was very friendly. B. was much impressed by 
the whole proceeding. " Oh ! maman, comme la 
Princesse est jolie ! Beatrice ne I'avait pas bien vue 
en voiture ! " 

Yesterday evening at eleven the Prince and Princess May 15. 
of Piedmont left Florence to go to the fetes at Genoa. 
Mdlle. A. passed almost the whole day and evening 
with the Princess, and they had tea together as of old. 

I have given notice that we leave this house at the 
end of May. This means, of course, that I have all 
the delights of packing before me. It makes me 
shudder, I quite allow, as I well remember that last 
year I felt it positive rest to sit under the dentist's 
hands ! Carlsruhe is to be my first station, I hope, 
and then I shall go on to you. 

The weather, which was so splendid for the/^/^j, has 
changed and is most unpleasant. This evening we are 
going to the Marsh's to meet the Motleys— the 
historian's family. 

The last day at Florence was dreadful ; it seemed Verona, 
really impossible to '^et through all that had to be 
done. Mdlle. A., who was to travel with me, went off 
at the last moment to dine with the Marsh's and did 
not return till we had nearly given her up, and a fearful 
thunderstorm came to crown all. 

Thanks to our Consul we had a coupe to ourselves, 
so were able to settle B. comfortably in it. She went 
to sleep directly, regardless of ringing of bells and 
snorting and screaming of engines. Crowds of people 
had come to see others off, and we had many to bid us 



276 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

goodbye, amongst others Menabrea,i who had a long 
talk with Mdlle. A., giving her news of the 
Princess's entry into Milan, about which he had had 
two telegrams, and which went off as splendidly as 
everything else has till now. Mdlle. A. entreated 
him to be careful of Madame Marguerite's health and 
not allow her to be over-tired. " Soyez tranquille," 
he said, " nous la soignerons bien, c'est notre perle." 
In fact, I believe the whole Ministry feels personally 
obliged to the Princess for her wonderful success. Her 
marriage has been a trump card in its hands. 

^ Prime Minister. 




r G 






lyrny , i.^r<n<>n/ (^*H^xc^!y. 



9- 



~njl/>J-u/fl^fJ^ (jfriju'^^n" ty4'^ul^i't^rA- . 



CHAPTER XV 

C. named Conseiller de Legation to the Hague — Berlin — Countess^ 
Bismarck — Countess Schulemburg — Reception at Crown 
Prince's — Ball in honour of the Prince and Princess of Wales 
— Schleppen Cour — Children's Ball at Crown Prince's Palace 
— Masken Ball — Children's party at Schonhausen. 

WHEN we left Florence after the brilliant fites 
in honour of the marriage of the Prince and 
Princess of Piedmont, I little thought that we were 
not destined to return to that beautiful city for 
many a long year to come; but so it was. 

In the summer of 1868 my husband was named 
" Conseiller de Legation " to the Hague, but was 
ordered to work first at the Foreign Office in Berlin, 
under Prince (then Count) Bismarck, for a time. We 
arrived there on January i, 1869, and as soon as C. had 
angemeldet (announced) himself, by writing his name 
at the different palaces, he was asked to all the Court 
functions and treated with the kindness which the old 
King (afterwards Emperor Wilhelm I.) invariably 
showed to all the members of the Bunsen family. 
My position was not so simple, for I had never been 
in Berlin before, and had had no opportunity of being 
presented to the Queen and the royal Princesses. As 
my husband was at that time immediately under Count 
Bismarck, it soon appeared that the right person to 

introduce me was the Countess Bismarck, our Chefesse 

277 



278 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

for the time being. Owing to the singularly exalted 
position held by the Bismarcks in Berlin at that time, 
just after the victorious conclusion of the war with 
Austria, it would have been impossible for me to have 
a better chaperone^ and Mme. de Bismarck per- 
formed her part with a kindness which I shall always 
remember with a warm feeling of gratitude. As it 
happened, I was the first lady she had introduced in 
this way, and my debut in the Berlin world was not 
only satisfactory, but almost sensational. Owing to 
these circumstances we enjoyed the festivities of a 
very brilliant carnival, and had, for rather more than 
three months, many opportunities of seeing different 
aspects of Berlin society. 



Cologne, We got to Cologne this morning about five, in utter 
Dec. 30, ° ° . ° . . ' 

1868. darkness, and had some difficulty in waking up the 

hotel people. The night journey here is not pleasant; 
one is constantly being routed out, or asked for tickets 
or something. At the Belgian frontier they clear the 
train, and drive the travellers into a cold station in a 
manner which must make all concerned sigh for the 
suppression of that country. 

It is all very nice here, and the German sounds so 
pleasant ^.Tid freundlich (friendly). I wonder if I shall 
like Berlin as well .? At present, however, they have 
unfortunately lighted an iron stove in the room, and I 
feel as if I were going to explode — that is a thing I do 
not like in Germany ! 
Berlin, It seems quite queer to be really writing from Berlin, 

1869. after so often imagining what it would be like and 
picturing it to myself. I like it immensely so far ; 
but first I must wish you all a good New Year, properly 
and solemnly, as every one does here. We travelled 



FLORENCE 279 

from Cologne very comfortably in a first-class carriage, 
for which we have been well laughed at, as they tell us 
only Jews and princes go first-class in Germany, 

G. and T.i were at the station to meet us, and we 
drove at once to the hotel, where we found our rooms 
all ready and heated, and had coffee and dressed. 

This morning T. came early, as he and C. were to 
write their names at the Crown Prince's to gratuliren 
for the New Year. Meanwhile, I had a very satis- 
factory interview with the master of the hotel. He 
began by kissing my hand and wishing me a good 
New Year, and then we proceeded to business. It 
seems to me that the prices are exceedingly moderate. 

I told mine host that this was my first visit to 
Berlin ; whereupon he said he would do all in his 
power to make it a pleasant one, again kissed my hand 
and my sleeve, to my great astonishment, and departed. 
It seems he is quite a well-known man, and presides at 
table d'hote with his decorations on ! Later, C. took 
me a walk up the Linden to the Schloss, where the 
royal flag was flying and carriages driving to and fro 
full of uniforms, there being great receptions on 
account of New Year's Day. All that part of Berlin 
is very handsome, with fine buildings, and, with the 
bright sun and lots of people about, it looked quite 
charming, I said so to Count Otto, whom we met — 
oiie meets every one, it seems to me, Unter den Linden. 
He answered patronisingly, " Na so iibel ist es nicht " 
(No, it is not so bad), and went on to write his name 
down at the Palace. 

Yesterday the Countess Bismarck was to take me, British 
by appointment, to the Countess Schulemburg, the Berlin, 
grande mattresse to the Queen, to arrange about my •^^"' "' 
^ My brothers-in-law George and Theodore von Bunsen. 



28o IN THREE LEGATIONS 

presentation at Court, &c. The Bismarck carriage 
came for me at three, and I drove alone in it to the 
Foreign Office. (If it had been a seraphic conveyance 
I really think it could hardly have produced more 
effect on the hotel people.) The Countess received 
me most kindly. She had not troubled to get herself 
up much for the grande maitresse^ being in a plain 
blue serge and furs. I had, of course, made a certain 
amount of toilette. Now that I have some experience 
of the importance which is attached here to all such 
trifling matters of etiquette, I could not help protesting 
against being made to enter the carriage first and sit 
on the right. "Ach, meine liebe, das macht gar nichts" 
(Ah, my dear, what does it matter.?), was Mme. de 
Bismarck's answer, which shows once more the truth 
of the saying, " qu'il vaut mieux s'adresser au bon 
Dieu qu'a ses saints." We proceeded to the Countess 
Schulemburg — a stiff and formal, but not unkindly 
old lady. She and Mme. de Bismarck discussed 
my affairs between them. I was to be presented 
at the " Schleppen Cour " (the court with trains), 
and then the Countess Bismarck seemed to think she 
had only to introduce me further to the ladies of the 
different Princesses and the Corps diplomatique. The 
Schulemburg said, however, that once she was about it, 
she might as well take me to the Ministers' wives and 
the various Hof-Chargen, which she consented to do. 
After this was decided we drove about for more than 
an hour, leaving my cards in those of the Countess, 
while she very kindly wrote down the list of the visits 
— " Damit Sie wissen wo Sie gewesen sind " (That you 
may know where you have been). When we came to 
any of the Hofdamen (Court ladies) she asked if they 
were at home, telling me it would be better if she could 



FLORENCE 281 

present me at once ; for the rest, she would introduce 
me either on Monday at Lord Augustus Loftus's 
English Embassy, or on Tuesday at the Benedetti's 
(French). Finally, she got down at the Schloss to pay a 
visit of her own, sending me back in her carriage. The 
sentinel at the Palace gate just recovered himself in time 
not to present arms to me, and I returned here, where 
C. was much interested to hear of all my adventures. 

On Monday a servant in Court livery tapped at the 
door of our rooms with a list in his hand, and, as is 
the custom here, gave us a verbal invitation to the 
Crown Princess's for yesterday evening. 

At eight o'clock precisely we were at the Crown 
Prince's Palace — a very handsome building near the 
end of Unter den Linden. Eulenburg and Jasmund, 
old Florence acquaintances, met us in the drawing- 
room, with the Countess Hohenthal and the Countess 
Reventlow, two of the Princess's ladies. Besides these 
and myself there were only three other ladies. We stood 
still and talked, till a door suddenly flew open, and the 
Crown Princess came in. She looked remarkably well, 
much better than any of her photographs, which do not 
do her justice. She has the finest, most intelligent 
eyes it is possible to see, a pleasant smile, beautiful 
teeth, and something most bright and animated about 
her whole person. She was dressed in white gaze de 
Chambery, with a red bow in her hair, which was very 
well arranged in a mass of little curls. She went up 
first to an old Excellenz, Frau von Biilow, and talked 
with her. Then she came to me, the Countess 
Hohenthal standing by to name me. She spoke 
English, and asked after my mother-in-law, and then 
mentioned the R.'s — had they not been at Florence } 
were we friends ^ — how pretty she was. She spoke 



282 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

about Hilda also, and then went straight across the 
room to talk with some of the gentlemen, and soon I 
saw her laughing with T. The Prince meantime had 
come in by another door, in uniform, but quite en 
petite tenue^ no orders, &c. I spare you my feelings 
on seeing him again ! He also began with the old 
Excellenz, and then went ofF to the gentlemen. We 
stood and stood and talked sotto voce whilst they pro- 
gressed slowly round the circle, not speaking to every- 
body, but singling out some one here and there. I 
saw the Prince shake hands with C. and T., and say to 
C. " Come sta" in Italian. After a time the Princess 
sat down on a sofa, and asked the Excellenz to sit by 
her ; Eulenburg motioned me to a chair on the other 
side of a round table which stood before her sofa. He 
introduced various gentlemen — some of them artists — 
who sat down round the table. C, and T. were placed 
at another table with the ladies-in-waiting. This part of 
the proceedings was laborious, for it was all in German, 
and as soon as the conversation seemed to flag Eulen- 
burg brought up some new man, so that one had to 
talk on desperately. Soon, however, the Princess called 
to me, " Mme. de Bunsen, will you come and sit by 
me, here .? " So I approached and sat, not on the sofa, 
but on a chair beside her. She then asked me, " Did 
you see what a stupid thing I did just now ^ " (Of 
course, my pantomime expressed the greatest incre- 
dulity.) " I spoke to your brother-in-law instead of 
your husband ; it was quite unpardonable, but my 
excuse is, I have two whole societies to keep in my 
head, but I will make it right now." Thereupon she 
sent for C, who was charmed with her, and talked to 
her in his most amusing way, making her cry with 
laughter at his stories. 



FLORENCE 283 

Before this I was talking with Grimm, the author of 
the Life of Michael Angelo, and we were laughing at 
something, when the Crown Prince suddenly pulled 
in his chair by us, giving me his hand, and asking 
what we were laughing about. " Aber sie sprechen ja 
Deutsch ; und was macht meine kleine Freundin, wie 
gefallt es ihr in Berlin ? " (But you can speak German 
— what is my little friend doing, how does she like 
Berlin ?). 1 told him B. was very happy and we 
talked- on very pleasantly. Indeed, the Countess 
Hohenthal asked me afterwards where 1 had got so 
intimate with H.R.H. 

The Prince showed me his pictures. " I am afraid 
we have no views of Florence here ; but I suppose you 
know that''' (pointing to a view of Naples), "and that'''' 
(showing the Lion of St. Mark on the Y\^xtl^\X.2) . 
He had relapsed into English, which, on the whole, 
I like better. After his wife had gone he stood a few 
minutes talking, then shook hands with the ladies, 
bowed, and walked off. Thereupon the whole com- 
pany departed — Hofdamen and all. We went on 
to the Benedetti's, where there was a great crowd, and 
where the Countess Bismarck kept her promise faith- 
fully, presenting me right and left. I could tell you 
much more; but it is late, and I am so tired. 

C. is at Court, at a ball, and I may as well begin a Berlin, 
letter to you while waiting for him. As for me, until " ^' 
my presentation at the Schleppen Cour on the 2ist, I 
have nothing to do with these festivities. 

Just as I returned to the hotel with B., one of those 
royal servants who go about with mysterious lists left 
an order for C. to go to the Palace to-night, where 
there is to be a very grand and choice ball for the 
Prince and Princess of Wales. He left all the direc- 



284 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

tions for the dress — uniform, decorations, and white 
trousers. There was the difficulty ; these white gar- 
ments are very rarely wanted, and C. does not possess 
them. We proceeded forthwith — Captain S., B., and 
all — to C.'s tailor — the one of his student days, who 
still works for him. The tailor produced various pairs 
of white inexpressibles, one of which, belonging to an 
officer, I believe, fitted C. " tant bien que mal," and so 
he was enabled to obey the royal commands. 

After dinner I went to the Hofschneider (Court 
tailor), Miiller, the Worth of Berlin, who is making 
my train for the Schleppen Cour and is a most 
amusing personage. I was accompanied, on this im- 
portant occasion, by Meyer, C, and T. When we 
arrived, however, we were told that the ball for the 
Prince and Princess of Wales had upset everything, 
and that it was impossible for me to try on till to- 
morrow at ten in the evening. 
Jan. 20. C. came back at two yesterday, or rather this morn- 

ing ; he said the ball was perfectly splendid — the 
rooms not very large and the company not nume- 
rous, but very select. From his description the 
Princess of Wales must be a wonderful " Erschein- 
ung " (apparition), not so much of actual beauty as 
the most exquisite grace and distinction. Her tall, 
graceful figure is an immense advantage to a person 
in her exalted position. C. had not much to do with 
the royalties, only the Crown Prince, who always speaks 
Italian with him now, said near the end : " Fu molto 
animato " (It was very spirited). 

C, says it was a splendid sight, and everybody most 
polite. Men come up to him and say *' Ich stelle 
mich vor, sie erkennen mich in uniform wohl nicht 
wieder " (I present myself; you do not recognise me 



FLORENCE 285 

in uniform). It is true that being in uniform does 
change them very much. People here do not speak 
without being presented, and it appears that at the 
Palace, where it is next to impossible to find anyone 
to perform introductions, it is quite refu that any 
one who is standing near, or brought into contact with 
you, may say, " I am so-and-so, in such a regiment." 
C. declares similarly, " I am Legations-Rath von Bun- 
sen," and thereupon they begin to talk, which strikes 
me as very sensible and praktisch (practical). 

E. E. and Hilda ^ arrive to-night, just in time for 
the Schleppen Cour. I shall be glad when to-morrow 
is well over ! 

I must try and tell you about the Schleppen Cour, Jan. 24. 
which has been the event of the week. Mliller did 
send me my train in time, and very beautiful it really 
is — green satin entirely trimmed with my old Malines, 
two rows all round, divided by a ruching of tulle. 
The petticoat is green to match, and similarly trimmed 
with Malines all round. As the train is never let down 
here, but always carried on the arm, a great deal of 
the under-dress is seen, so that it must be quite 
finished off. On this occasion I really had on, for the 
first time, nearly all my thirty-two metres of Malines, 
which I have never been able to wear together before. 

We arrived at the big old Schloss which is used 
on these grand occasions in very good time — in fact, 
they were still lighting the rooms ; but a good many 
people were there already. We got in amongst 
the Corps diplomatique and kept talking with the 
Limas and others for some time. I was then told that 
I must go with the Prussian ladies who were to be 
presented that evening, so I was shown to a room 
^ M. and Mme. Ernst de Bunsen and their daughter Hilda. 



286 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

where there were about twenty ladies, not one of 
whom I had ever seen before. Presently they 
marched C. off, having discovered that he had no 
need of presentation, and then I did certainly feel 
very lonely, " verrathen und verhauft " (betrayed and 
sold), as they say here. The Kammerherr in charge 
of this particular room was a Count Kayserling, a 
cousin of our former colleague, who was very civil. 
After a time we were made to stand in a row accord- 
ing to a list Count Kayserling had in his hand, and 
then the fates were kind, for I had for companion a 
most charming young Baroness Witzingerode, whose 
husband is in the army and quartered for the first 
time at Berlin, so that she is also making her debut 
here. We quite made friends, and agreed to stick to 
each other during the concert which was to follow the 
Cour. Meantime the doors were kept shut, and we 
stood and stood till I felt quite giddy and faint. I con- 
fided this to my new friend, who took it quite seriously. 
" Glauben Sie das Sie werden beim Knix umfallen "^ " 
(Do you think you will fall when you make your 
curtsey ?) I devoutly hoped not, and at last the 
three loud taps of the Hof-Marschall's stick, announc- 
ing royalty, were heard at the door. The King and 
Queen entered and began their tournee^ each going 
down a different side of the room, the King doing the 
men first, and the Queen beginning with the ladies. 
I was amongst the last, and the Countess Schulemburg 
said my name very distinctly. The Queen said she 
thought she remembered seeing me at Baden ; as I was 
perfectly certain I had never had a glimpse of her till 
that moment, I did not know exactly what to say. 
" Ach, ich irre mich ; Sie kommen jaaus Florenz ; aber 
Sie sprechen vielleicht lieber Franzosisch " (Ah, I am 




KING WILLIAM AT THE WINDOW OF 
HIS PALACE. 



To face p. 287.I 



FLORENCE 287 

mistaken ; you come from Florence ; but perhaps 
you would rather speak French). She did then speak 
French, asked how long it was since I had seen my 
mother-in-law, begged I would give her a message 
when I wrote that she had regretted not seeing her 
this summer, &c. After which she moved on, her 
long train held up by two pages in scarlet. I wished 
I had a page for my train, for my arm ached with 
holding it up. Then came the King, who looks 
wonderfully kind and good-natured. He also said 
sorhething about speaking French. " Etwas Deutsch 
kann ich doch sprechen, Majestat " (I can speak some 
German, your Majesty). Then he told me of E.'s 
arrival, which had been quite a surprise to him, and 
was short but very gnddig (gracious). He did not 
speak to all the ladies, and my companions seemed 
to think that I had altogether a good deal of notice. 
The King and Queen then proceeded on their way ; 
they had to speak, or at least bow, to between two 
and three thousand people that evening. The Crown 
Princess came next with her train and her pages ; she 
spoke to a few people, and then dashed back to the 
door to the Princess Friedrich Carl, who had just 
come in, also with train and pages. After staying 
there some time, the Crown Princess made another 
move across the room to speak to some lady — her 
pages must keep a sharp look-out, for her movements 
are very sudden — and then came on to me. 

Her diamonds were really splendid, and quite 
dazzled me while she stood talking to me. She also 
mentioned E. and E.'s sudden arrival, said how beau- 
tiful Hilda was looking, and was altogether very 
pleasant. The Crown Prince did come into the room, 
but by that time the Princesses had gone on, and 



288 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

Count Kayserling had warned us that we must make 
our way to the concert-room as soon as possible, for 
we should find the gallery that leads to it very crowded 
already. This the Prince confirmed, " Eilen sie sich — 
eilen sie sich, meine Damen. Sie werden kaum 
durchkommen " (You must hurry, ladies ; you 
will scarcely get through). This long gallery was 
crammed full of officers waiting for their turn to see i 
the Court pass. It was rather an ordeal to go through 
such a crowd of men, who made way for us as well 
as they could, but stared with all their eyes. At last, 
however. Count Kayserling succeeded in piloting us 
safely into the Weisse Saal, where the concert was to 
take place, and getting us all seated. My companion 
and I were very well placed, near an open space, so 
that people could come and speak to us. Then for 
the first time I caught sight of the gigantic figure of i 
Bismarck, moving about among the ladies and making j 
himself agreeable. Presently he approached us, and ;] 
Count Roeder introduced him to my neighbour and 
then to me. " Erlauben Sie dass ich Ihnen den Grafen 
Bismarck vorstelle " (Allow me to present Count 
Bismarck to you). We bowed, and he excused him- 
self in French for making use of Count Roeder, who 
had not the advantage of our personal acquaintance, 
but he thought it allowable, as he was " dans 1' exer- 
cise de ses fonctions " (Count Roeder is introducteur 
des ambassadeurs). He said he had so little time 
now for society, as what leisure he had he was obliged 
to give up to active exercise for the sake of his health. 
He then talked about the Court and the long stand- 
ing, all very pleasantly, in very fluent French, though 
with a decided accent. When he had gone, my neigh- 
bour said : " Franzosisch har er ihnen gewiss zu Ehre 



I 




COUNT BISMARCK, AFTERWARDS PRINCE AND- 
CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY. 



To face p. 289.] 



FLORENCE 289 

gesprochen, denn er weiss ja dass ich Deutsch bin " 
(He certainly spoke French in your honour, for he 
knows that I am a German). All my acquaintances 
in the Corps diplomatique, who were not far off, 
nodded and smiled most graciously after my interview 
with the allerhochste Chef (all-highest Chief), as 
he is called here. One of the Saxon officers, whom 
we meet daily at table d'hote^ and who are very nice, 
came and talked. " Ich gratulire zu einer wunder- 
schonen Toilette " (I congratulate you on a wonderfully 
beautiful dress). The Baron Ziegler managed to 
make his way to me, so that altogether I got on very 
well, and was comforted by a glimpse of C. in the 
distance. After a long wait the whole royal proces- 
sion came in and occupied places on a sort of plat- 
form, their Court behind them. The pages settled the 
trains of the Princesses, spreading them out at their 
feet, which was certainly more comfortable than having 
them bundled up on one's chair, as we had. The con- 
cert I cannot tell you much about, for my head was 
aching with fatigue. Wachtel, the great tenor here, 
sang " Dieu sait si Mathilde m'est chere," from 
" Guillaume Tell," in grand style. In the interval 
between the two parts of the concert, all the royalties 
got up and walked about, pages and all, and made 
themselves amiable to a wonderful degree. 

At last it was all over, and in going out I lighted on 
E, and Hilda. They had been with the ladies already 
presented in the room before the one we were in. C. 
had fared very well, having got in with E. and Keudell. 
E., by the way, looks very well in his much-embroidered 
Kammerherr uniform with the gold key. Poor T. had 
been sent off nobody knows where, and had found 
himself amongst a set of shabby uniforms, to his 

20 



290 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

great indignation. The scene coming down the 
grand staircase was splendid, with all the uniforms 
and ladies' dresses. The Guards here are magnificent 
in white, with a red justaucorps and a black eagle 
on the breast. The helmet is surmounted by a silver 
eagle, superbly set on, by way of crest. They are 
splendid men, and those on duty in the halls and 
galleries looked like living statues. They were 
decidedly the best looking men there, for the gala 
uniform with white inexpressibles makes even the 
King look limp and shabby somehow. I am happy 
to say, however, that C. had a pair of his own on this 
occasion. 

And so we got home and had some beer, which was 
prosaic but comforting, and I think I never felt so tired 
in all my life. 

To-morrow B. is to go to a children's ball at the 
Crown Prince's, to her immense delight, as you may 
suppose. 

She said to me to-day, " Si le Cron-Prince est la 
Beatrice le connait tres bien de Florence ! " I told 
her that with Princes one must wait until one was 
spoken to, which was silly of me, as it would have 
been much better to leave the child to her own 
inspirations. She was impressed, however, and asked, 
" Est-ce qu'il ne faut pas dire ' Bonjour ' en entrant } " 
The Countess Reventlow, who is the governess of the 
Crown Prince's children, happily told me yesterday of 
this invitation, otherwise I do not know how we should 
have got B.'s things together in time. The Hof 
Lakai only came with the list and the usual message, 
*' Die Kronprinzlichen Herrschaften," &c., at about 
six this evening. 

We really quite look forward to the table d^hote. 



FLORENCE 291 

at the hotel now, the conversation is so pleasant. 
Mr. and Mrs. Kriiger, the master and mistress of 
the hotel, always preside, and on Sunday Mr. 
Kriiger wears his decorations. B. has had a 
Philippchen with him, which the whole house con- 
spired to make her win, and the next day she found 
a very pretty little doll on her plate, with Mr. Kriiger's 
card and " Gutenmorgen, Phillipchen," on it. She 
was enchanted, and went up to thank him very 
prettily, whereupon he kissed her quite paternally, 
and the whole table d'hote was geriihrt (touched). 
You have no idea how nice all the people are (or at 
least most of them), so intensely gutmuthig (good- 
natured), with all their outer coating of formality. 

The other day I was saying that we had always been 
fortunate till now in making friends wherever we had 
been. An old colonel said with a solemn bow, *' Und 
dass meine Gnadigste ist ein Gliick das Ihnen nie 
fehlen wird ! " (And that, madame, is a happiness 
that will never fail you). It was nice of the old 
man, and I was quite touched. 

I was telling Count Bethusy the other day that B. 
had declared she was hungry at bed-time, which I did 
not think possible, as the table d'hote is scarcely over 
at five, and that she had had a slice of bread and butter 
at seven, which it then was. He took B.'s part, how- 
ever, declared that I was grausam (barbarous), and 
said, " Das kleine Vich das will wachsen " (The 
little cattle wants to grow), and now the two are 
immense friends. 

I think I told you all about the Schleppen Cour. Jan. 31. 
Since then we had the Court ball at the Schloss, and 
B. has been to the children's ball at the Crown 
Prince's. To-morrow there is a ball at Prince 



292 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

Friedrich Carl's, on Wednesday one at Count de 
Launay's, the Italian Minister, and on Saturday there 
is " Masken Ball " at the Crown Prince's palace ! So 
there is a list of gaieties for you ! B. seems to have 
got on very well at her entertainment. Auguste 
said she was not at all shy, but did not put her- 
self forward. The Crown Prince took notice of her 
and Prince Wilhelm, the hero of the day,i talked a 
great deal with her. The Crown Princess told Hilda 
that B. was reisend und allerliehst (charming, most 
attractive), and had amused them all by her 
Manierchen. B.'s account of the whole was not 
very clear. She had seen the Crown Prince, and he 
had spoken to her, of that she was sure, " Beatrice 
le connait tres bien de Florence ! " Then she thought 
she had seen the Princess Charlotte, and she had seen 
" la robe de la ' Cronprinzessen,' mais Beatrice ne la 
connait pas." She had had two cups of chocolate and 
a slice of the birthday cake, which had an eagle on it. 
Then she had danced all the time, and brought back 
three bouquets, a paper cap, and bonbons. That, I 
think, is a resume of her impressions. 

Herr von Keudell had himself presented to me at 
the Schloss ball. He is a very important man, 
director of the " personal " at the Foreign Office, 
and one of the few intimes of Bismarck, and I was 
very anxious to see him. He is still young, and 
looked very well in his white Landwehr uniform, the 
same that Bismarck wears. He has a fine, powerful 
head, and the most quiet and gentle manner, but 
shares with his great chief that overworked and rest- 
less look which shows an overtasked brain. He said 
he hoped the Countess Bismarck had helped to make 
^ The present Emperor of Germany. 




H.R.H. THE CROWN PRINCESS OF PRUSSIA 
AND PRINCESS ROYAL OF ENGLAND. 



To face p. 293.] 



FLORENCE 293 

my first entrance into Berlin society easier, compli- 
mented me on my German, and was altogether very 
agreeable. It feels queer to meet a man on whom 
so much of one's future life may depend ! How- 
ever, I don't think he has much to say to anything, 
for without the consent of the allerhochsten Chef no 
one here dare lift a finger. It is extraordinary what 
awe that one man inspires, and it is catching ! The 
first time we went to call on the Countess Bismarck C. 
had shown me, with an awestruck gesture, a collection 
of hats and helmets on the hall-table which he sup- 
posed to belong to the redoubtable Bismarck. I had 
had a sort of William Tell feeling towards these hats 
which I rather gloried in, but on returning there the 
other day to call on the Countess, who was out 
unfortunately, I felt that I was getting much more 
into the Berlin frame of mind. After supper and 
Keudall we came home, which we were told after- 
wards was gan% unerlaubt (not at all allowed), as one 
must stay as long as the Court is there. It seems 
that on one occasion the King retired early himself 
from some ball where the Court still was, and met 
two people on the stairs who were evidently making 
their escape, and " er war gar nicht freundlich " (he 
was not at all friendly). Poor Abeken, whom we saw 
the next day, had stood it till four in the morning, 
which at his age, and with all his work as Vortragende 
Rath at the Foreign Office, was certainly not for his 
personal amusement. 

On Saturday the great excitement, the " Masken Ball " 
at the Crown Prince's, came off. C. wore the dress 
which was made for his father on the occasion of the 
great ball Queen Victoria gave, when every one was 
to be in Louis XV. costume. My father-in-law did 



294 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

the thing thoroughly, and made out exactly what 
would have been the dress of a Prussian Minister 
at that time. The dress had lain by ever since, and 
had to be very much freshened up (new gold lace 
put on, &c., by no means an inexpensive operation), 
but it looked very well. With a wig and high-heeled 
shoes and a three-cornered hat, C. was quite trans- 
formed and extremely amused with himself. Miiller 
made me what was supposed to be a rococo domino 
in grey and silver tarlatane, with powdered hair and 
a hood, which was to be let down when we unmasked. 
B. was allowed to sit up to see us dress, and you may 
imagine her delight. My dress came at a quarter to 
nine, so that I could not even look at it before going 
off, but I believe it was all right. At the top of the 
stairs we were met by Eulenburg and Jasmund, un- 
masked, and with the queerest possible little tartan 
satin tippets on their shoulders, to prevent their 
looking too black, I suppose. They took our 
tickets and murmured approval, but could not 
recognise us, of course. We walked about the 
beautiful rooms to the sounds of the minuet in 
" Don Giovanni," all wearing the hideous black 
mask. People tried to make each other out, but 
there was not much talking or animation, although I 
believe there was a certain amount ot intriguing going 
on. Altogether the effect was rather unheimlich (un- 
canny) at first, and when one of the best masks there, 
Count Harrach, who was got up to represent a 
member of the old Vehmgericht (Secret Tribunal) 
lifted his hand and menaced us all with some 
unseen and terrible vengeance, one could hardly 
help shuddering. After about an hour we were 
told to unmask, which we did with great alacrity, 



\ 



FLORENCE 295 

as a mask is by no means a comfortable appendage. 
Scarcely had we got them off, however, when we had 
to put them on again, by order of the King, who, it 
seems, was amusing himself. H.M. is supposed to 
like the freedom and unconventionality of such occa- 
sion — within certain limits — for when some time 
ago a mask ventured to pat him on the stomach, 
inquiring, " Wie geht es. Alter .? " (How are you, 
old man ?), the King drew himself up and replied, 
" Alles sagen, aber nicht auriihren " (Say anything, 
but do not touch). I tried to mystify Stosch, whom 
I had recognised in the moment when masks were 
taken off, but he soon told me I must not speak 
German if I wanted to remain unknown, so I gave 
that up, and was very glad when we were at last 
released from our black disguises and one could see 
who was who. Bismarck appeared in a blue domino ; 
the King also in a blue moire-antique domino, or 
rather an apology for one, for it was only a short 
cloak. The Crown Princess was dressed as Jane 
Seymour, I think — a very beautiful and exact costume, 
but it must have been very hot, all velvet, and a 
heavy coif on the head. The Princess of Hohen- 
zollern looked lovely in a mediaeval dress, and there 
were many beautiful apparitions. 

But now the event of the evening, the dancing of the 
quadrilles, took place. The royalties all seated them- 
selves at the end of a gallery, and a space was kept in front 
of them by silken ropes held by the bystanders. C. was 
clever enough to get hold of one, and thus secure 
himself a place in the front row. The first quad- 
rille was of Deutsche Mahrehen (German fairy 
tales), in which figured Blue Beard, Little Red 
Ridinghood, represented by a beautiful girl, a 



296 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

Countess Hatzfeld, Cinderella, &c. Then there 
came a country wedding in Louis XV. costumes and 
powdered hair, in which were some charming people — 
the Countess Harrach, who is a daughter of the 
Countess Pourtales, and a young Lady Brabazon, the 
wife of an English secretary here. But the prettiest 
scene of all was a dance of Styrian peasants, very quick, 
and animated, with clicking of spurs and cracking of 
fingers, rather like a Scotch reel. The effect was 
really beautiful, and all the people danced with 
wonderful spirit, considering they had rehearsed 
every day and had been dancing all night besides 
for a fortnight or more. These quadrilles are to 
be repeated to-morrow night at the Schloss, which is 
a pleasure to look forward to, for they are quite some 
of the prettiest things I ever saw. After some more 
dancing we went to supper, and while I was eating 
foie gras the Crown Prince came up. " Also Sie 
sind die graue Erscheinung die ich dreimal verfolgt 
habe " (So you are the grey apparition that I pur- 
sued three times), &c., extremely gn'ddig (gracious), 
but not conducive to my getting on with my supper. 
However, the Crown Prince does not inspire me with 
that awe and wish to escape which most of the other 
royalties produce in me. With him I feel, as B. 
expresses it, "que je le connais tres bien de Florence." 
I even ventured to admire some grand old lace he had 
on his domino, on which he remarked, " Es ist so iibel 
nicht fiir zu Hause " (It is not bad for home wear). 
After that there was more dancing, and then we got 
home very tired. 

By the by, one of the prettiest things at the " Masken 
Ball " was the little Prince Wilhelm, dressed like the 
portraits of Frederic the Great as a child, with a little 



FLORENCE 297 

pigtail and powdered hair. He looked such a little 
duck. I must go to bed now, for after all we have 
a ball to-morrow — Schloss — a reception at Olfers on 
Wednesday, another at Count Schwerin's on Thurs- 
day, and one at Count Kanitz's, on Friday. As you 
see, it is not exactly rest as yet, but getting rid of the 
Kammerherren and being able to sit down are great 
alleviations. 

And so the carnival is over, and we all agree that ^^b. 10, 
though we are not sorry that such is the case, it has 
been very pleasant and amusing. The ball at the 
Schloss last night was a grand wind up, and a more 
brilliant sight could scarcely be imagined, as all the 
prettiest costumesof the "Masken Ball "were reproduced. 

One gets rather tired in Berlin of the intense 
mystery that envelops everything in the official world. 
No one dares to say a word and there is something 
uncomfortable in the atmosphere. Also I do not like 
being labelled, as it were, " Legationsrathin," quite 
irrespective of one's own personality. This, of course, 
is only the old-fashioned system, and there are many 
houses where it does not exist at all. Still, if any one 
wishes to know their exact social value, I advise them 
to come to Berlin. After being waived on by Kam- 
merherren to the particular room where you belong, 
and the particular table where you can have your 
supper, there being other rooms and other tables to 
which you must by no means go, and, after having to 
get out of the way of " Excellenzen " and your *' Vor- 
gesetzten " (superiors) generally, not to speak of the 
" Hohe Herrschaften," at the end of the season you are 
not likely to retain many illusions respecting yourself, 
whatever you may have indulged in before. 

On Tuesday we were at Benedetti's again, which was 



298 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

extremely pleasant and nice. Mme. de Bismarck was 
there ; I had not seen her for a long time, as the great 
man has been ill. She told me her husband was better, 
" ohne dass ware ich nicht gekommen " (without that 
I should not have come). She is completely devoted 
to him, and sits by his side night after night while 
he works till two or three in the morning. In the 
anxious times before the late war with Austria, 
Bismarck's nervous excitement was so great that he 
could never sleep. He used to work on through the 
night till he was thoroughly exhausted, and then throw 
himself on a sofa to rest while she played to him. 
She is a magnificent musician. 

Last Saturday we went with Hilda and E. 
to hear " Tannhaiiser," and it certainly was one of 
the most memorable evenings I have spent here. It 
is the first time I have heard an opera of Wagner's 
performed, and the effect is certainly wonderful. 
Niemann, the great singer here, is a perfect Tann- 
haiiser, tall and handsome ; he could stand for a 
statue in almost every pose, and he has a magnificent 
voice. I am so hoping to see him in Lohengrin, where 
they say he really looks supernatural . All the scenery 
in " Tannhaiiser," the Wartburg, &c., is most beauti- 
ful and exact, the orchestra splendid ; in short, it is 
a treat such as one can seldom enjoy. 

Yesterday we were at the Dom (Cathedral), as the 
Communion is celebrated here on "Grun Donnerstag" 
(Holy Thursday), the actual day of its institution. 
The service is very beautiful and impressive, and I was 
much struck by the crowds who flocked to the altar ; 
such numbers of men. The music at the Dom is 
always good, but what edifies me is the way all join in, 
officers, Kammerherren, all and any, singing, often 



FLORENCE 299 

without book, evidently knowing both words and tune 
by heart. Yesterday, in the evening, we went again to 
the Dom, where there was a " Litiirgische Andacht " 
(Litany). A royal carriage passed us on our way, and 
we stopped, turned, bowed and curtsied, as is the 
manner here. It was the " Kronprinzlichen Herr- 
schaften " going to the Dom. The Crown Prince saw 
us and waved his hand Italian fashion. It so reminded 
me of those sunny days at Florence. The service 
itself was very beautiful, the Litany well composed, 
and " musica del Paradiso " (music of Paradise). 

The Dom is emphatically an ugly church, but when 
quite full and lighted up it looks fairly well.i The 
King was there in the royal pew, which is extremely 
like a box in a theatre or concert-room. The Queen 
and a number of Princesses, and even the royal 
flunkeys, covered with silver lace and black eagles, 
followed the service with the most devout attention. 

I go about a good deal with the Countess Reventlow 
at present, and she has really explained to me how you 
are to know at a distance if a carriage with the royal 
liveries contains " Hohe Herrschaften " or not. You 
may laugh, but it is a serious difficulty. All the maids 
of honour, and many others besides, have the use 
of Court carriages, and I have not the slightest wish to 
make a Knix (curtsey) to the Countess Hohenthal 
or the little Princess Carolath, or any such persons. 
It would be perfectly ridiculous into the bargain, but 
the carriages pass so quickly that one cannot wait 
to see who is inside. I used to try and keep as much 
out of their way as possible. The other day, walking 
with the Reventlow, I ignored the Crown Prince and 
Princess in the most outrageous manner. I asked my 
^ Since 1869 it has been replaced by a quite new edifice. 



300 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

companion, who had made her curtsey all right, how 
she could possibly know who was in the carriage, and 
she explained that when royalty is inside, the coachman 
always has a band of silver with the black eagles, 
of double widths on his hat. They are so particular 
about this that the man always has a hat with the 
ordinary sized band in reserve under his seat, so that 
in case of the royal personage stopping anywhere and 
the attendant returning alone, he can instantly make 
a change. Since I am possessed of this knowledge' 
I perform my knixes with great satisfaction, although it* 
is not always an elegant process ; on a muddy day, foi^ 
instance, in a short dress and thick boots. 

I hope you will not be too much taken aback to* 
hear that we are to go off to the Hague in a day or 
two. The Minister there. Count Perponcher, wishes 
for leave of absence, and C. is to go and take his place. 
We are already seeing about having trunks repaired, 
&c., and preparing to leave Berlin, which I am much 
more reluctant to do than I should have thought 
possible some time ago. 

Monday last B. was again at Court, as it was the 
little Princess Victoria's birthday and a party was 
given at Schonhausen, one of the country palaces. 
I thought I would profit by the carriage and go 
to the country, so after depositing B. at the palace, 
I sat in a charming pine wood, where there was a 
delicious fresh smell, and where the little squirrels ran 
up and down the trees without taking the slightest 
notice of me. It was most quiet and enjoyable. 
Afterwards I went into the Schonhausen park, which 
was full of people looking on at the children, with 
a policeman here and there to prevent their going 
too near. I amused myself by making a sketch of the 



FLORENCE 301 

scene, which was very bright and pretty. B. was 
sent for to dance with the Crown Princess and the 
Princess Victoria, and enjoyed herself much. She always 
gives a kind of report of what happens on these 
occasions, which is extremely exact : " Beatrice s'est 
promenee avec la Princesse Charlotte. Le Cronprinz 
etait la, et il a salue Beatrice," &c. B. ought to be 
sorry to leave Berlin, for she has plenty of friends 
besides her cousins, and goes out a great deal. I shall 
write from the Hague, where we arrive on Monday 
morning, I hope. I confess to feeling my spirits rise 
t the propects of foreign service again. I like much 
at Berlin, but the " Auswartigen Amt " (Foreign 
Qffice) is a dreadful drawback. 



THE HAGUE 




QUEEN SOPHIE OF THE NETHERLANDS. 



To face p. 305. 



CHAPTER XVI 

The Hague — Dinner at Perponchers' — Scheveningen — Prince 
Alexander's birthday party — Birth of Prince of Naples — 
Arrival of Prince of Wied — Christmas — Intense cold — Court 
ball—" Le the de la Reine ." 

IT would amuse you, I think, to see how perfectly The 
we are at home and settled here already, al- ^^f^^' 
though we only arrived this day week. So far, we ^869. 
are quite charmed with the Hague, and find its quiet 
and comfort a haven of rest after the turmoil of 
Berlin. As we were sent off very suddenly, our last 
days there were all bustle and confusion. We had, as 
we thought, taken leave of Berlin society on Friday 
evening at the Countess Arnim Boytzenburg's, very 
chic and select, with the allerhochster Chef, Bismarck) 
there in person. C. did his " Ahmeldungen " at Court 
as late as possible, but we were directly ordered to 
the Crown Prince's for the same evening, and I 
had to unpack my dress things, which were already 
in the trunks, in order to go. Nothing could be 
kinder than both the " Hohe Herrschaften," and 
all the suite were quite affectionate, wishing us a 
good journey " und kommen Sie recht bald wieder " 
(come back very soon). The Countess Bismarck 
was also very kind and cordial when I went to take 
leave. The next day, Sunday, B. was sent for to 
play with the Princess Charlotte, and all her finery 

2tl 305 



3o6 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

had to be unpacked. At last we telegraphed to 
Count Perponcher to put off our arrival for a day, as 
it really was not possible to go on Monday. 

Count Bethusy sent me a lovely bouquet of white 
camellias and violets, and as B. had another big one, 
we must have looked almost like a wedding-party at 
the station. I was infinitely more sorry to leave 
Berlin than I should have thought possible some time 
ago, but we met with much kindness there, and have 
made some real friends, I believe. When we arrived 
at the Hague our Chief's carriage and servant were 
waiting at the station, rooms had been taken for us at 
the hotel, and before we had been there half an hour. 
Count Perponcher came to ask us to dine quietly with 
them that day. Since then all has gone on beautifully ; 
the Perponchers seem to be ideal Chiefs, quite over- 
powering us with kindness. The children, too, are 
charming, and a great resource for B. Elizabeth is 
a beautiful child of ten, and there are two ducks of 
little boys. 
April 23. (3, has gone out with his Chief, who is indefatigable 
in taking him his round of diplomatic visits, all in 
person and on foot, so that C. comes back pretty well 
tired, and his head in a whirl with all the Dutch names, 
which are generally long and complicated. The 
Countess and I have already been our rounds, leaving 
cards in abundance and finding few people at home. 
We go in her carriage. C. was presented yesterday to 
the King (King William VI. of the Netherlands), 
who appears to be somewhat in Vittorio's style, 
brief and abrupt. The interview was short andi 
sweet, and the whole affair was over so soon, that' 
when C. came back I thought there must have been 
some hitch, and that it had been countermanded. Wei 




OUR DRAWING-ROOM AT THE HAGUE. 



To face p. 307-] 



THE HAGUE 307 

are both to be presented to the Queen to-morrow, 
Sunday evening, at nine o'clock. Meantime I must 
tell you that we have succeeded in finding an apart- 
ment, which is a great relief, as we were told the custom 
here is to take a house for three years and furnish it, 
which seemed a very great trouble. The houses in 
Holland are small and independent, like in England, 
or rather, as the Dutch would claim, the English 
houses are copied from theirs. In general there are 
no flats, but we have discovered one in a large old- 
fashioned house which seems as though it were made 
for us. There is a polished black wood staircase and 
a very large and lofty drawing-room with a bow- 
window. The walls are not papered, but hung with 
huge oil-paintings in panels, as is often the case in old 
Dutch houses. These represent views of Rome, and I 
think the sight of them made us take the apartment at 
once, but it really suits us perfectly. The house is in 
the Korte Vorhout, just opposite the palace of Prince 
Frederick of the Netherlands, uncle of the King, and 
at the entrance of the " Bosch " (wood), a kind of 
public park. Count Perponcher wants to go with his 
family to his chateau in Silesia, and our fate will evi- 
dently be to spend the summer here. Everybody 
says it is quite pleasant, hardly ever too hot, and with 
Scheveningen and sea-bathing within twenty minutes' 
drive. There is much to be seen in Holland which is 
all new to us, and the Hague, or " S'Gravenhage," 
which is its real name, is a clean, quaint, picturesque 
place. It is very amusing to study Dutch in the 
advertisements from the shops, &c., and we can under- 
stand it to read fairly well, as there are many English 
and German words, but when spoken, the pronuncia- 
tion is so different, so harsh and guttural, that one is 



3o8 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

quite at sea. An injunction at a house door made us 
laugh heartily : " Drie mal bellen ! " It meant, of 
course, *' ring three times," but as bellen is to bark in 
German, it looked so funny. I am much amused at 
being addressed as " Mevrow," which is " Madame." 
We hope to get into our new home to-morrow, and I 
am quite looking forward to it, after three months of 
hotel life in Berlin. 
Korte We are now established in our new abode and more 

April 27.' and more delighted with it ; the salon is really hand- 
some, large and well proportioned, and already looks 
quite comfortable with all our little possessions about. 
Mme. de Perponcher, who came to see how we were 
getting on, seemed quite edified. 

Our presentation to the Queen ^ was a serious 
business. We were ordered in the evening, in full 
dress, and it lasted an hour and a half, sitting, I am 
thankful to say, in rather a prim circle, the two Per- 
ponchers and ourselves. The Hofdame (Lady-in-wait- 
ing) sat in the distance nodding occasionally. The Queen 
wears her hair in ringlets, like the portraits of Mme. 
de Sevigne, and must have been very pretty. She is 
exceedingly clever and well-informed, but conversation 
carried on so long and under such circumstances is 
always an effort. Poor Perponcher declared afterwards 
that though it was a " grosse Anszeichnung " (great 
distinction) H.M.'s keeping us so long, he felt quite 
exhausted. 

The people here seem very pleasant and kind ; the 
little Hofdamen come to see me on foot in short 
dresses. Some of them are clever and speak English 
perfectly, others are of a serious turn of mind and 

* Queen Sophie of the Netherlands, daughter of King William I. 
of Wiirtemberg. 



THE HAGUE 309 

discuss last Sunday's sermon. Various grandes- 
maitresses come and pay me long visits. They have 
all read my mother-in-law's book,i in the three 
different editions I think, and are perfectly up in the 
Bunsen family history. Everybody seems to have seen 
us in the German church last Sunday, when we made 
our first appearance in the Legation pew. It was 
was quite a new sensation, and an edifying one, to sit 
in church with one's Chief and his family. 

At a dinner at the Perponchers' we made the ac- 
quaintance of an English secretary here, Mr. Thurlow, 
whose wife. Lady Elma Thurlow, is a niece of Lady 
Augusta Stanley's. They asked us to dine with 
them, and C. happened to speak of something that had 
occurred when he was at the London Legation in his 
father's time. A voice from the other end of the 
table interrupted him : "I beg your pardon, but that 
is not quite as it is told in the book ! " It was really 
funny, because the incident happened to C. himself. 

The weather is deplorable, ever changing and l"^"^^ ^5- 
wretchedly cold. One warm day we had, really warm, 
and I put on a summer dress for the first time, but the 
next day was grey, raining and windy again. However, 
one can walk very well, and B. and I went to the Huis 
ten Bosch, the Queen's palace in the wood, and back 
without feeling at all tired, a feat I could not have per- 
formed on my arrival here. Of course, after a whole 
year of change and travelling, and the feverish excite- 
ment of Berlin, it is natural that it should seem rather 
flat to spend the day in looking after B.'s lesson 
without seeing a soul, and to hem table-napkins or 
read Stanley's " History of the Jewish Church " in the 
evening, but the quiet and rest are evidently doing me 
^ " Life of Baron Bunsen." 



310 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

good. C. gets on pretty well, but I think he finds it 
dull too, occasionally. 

The Perponchers went off yesterday in very good 
spirits. They have been five years at the Hague, and 
are glad, I imagine, to get away for a time ; we miss 
them very much. 

We went to Scheveningen, as it was fine, but le 
fond de Vair is still keen. We sat on the shore in 
the funny, comfortable basket-chairs with great hoods 
to them, which protect from both wind and sun. 
We paid a visit to the Jacobsons, who have a villa 
there. They are friends of the Queen's ; he is an 
art connoisseur^ and has the best private gallery at 
the Hague. Afterwards we dined at the Etablissement 
des Bains, at an immense table d'hote^ very well got up. 
In the evening we sat on the terrace and heard the 
band. The scene is pretty, with all the people 
about and the sun setting right opposite in the sea. 

Our old friend Mdlle. A. has written to me from 
Monza, where she is in attendance on the Princess of 
Piedmont, to say that it has been decided that the 
" futur enfant d'ltalie," who is expected soon, shall 
have an English nurse, and asking me to try and get 
one. Of course, here in Holland it is not exactly an 
easy task ; however, I set to work and wrote to my 
sister-in-law Emilia, and to several other people, asking 
them to send photographs and testimonials, &c., of any 
forthcoming candidates direct to Monza. I also wrote 
to Mdlle. A., telling her of the steps I had taken ; as 
I am not fond of writing, I hope that all this corre- 
spondence me sera compte. It seems the Princess is 
very well and the Court at Monza most brilliant. 

Last week the Queen gave a garden-party in 
honour of her son Prince Alexander's birthday, to 




COUNT BENEDETTI, FRENCH AMBASSADOR 
AT BERLIN. 



To face p. s"-] 



THE HAGUE 311 

which B. was asked. The weather was splendid, the 
sun really so hot one was glad to get into the shade of 
the trees. The garden at the Huis ten Bosch is 
lovely, and the flowers and all the light muslin 
dresses of the ladies had a very pretty effect. The 
Queen received in the great painted hall, coming 
forward to greet her guests much as any other 
hostess. After some time she gave the example 
of going down into the garden, where the company 
dispersed and walked about as they pleased. I saw 
the King and the Prince of Orange for the first 
time ; the former was said to be in very bad humour, 
and did nothing but scold and find fault, but people 
seem to be used to it and not to mind it much. I 
think poor B. was rather disappointed, as she had 
expected to amuse herself as well as at the parties 
she went to in Berlin, where everything was arranged 
especially for children. Here it was a mixed affair, 
which is never so successful ; however, she met a good 
many little acquaintances and got on fairly. 

Nothing could be kinder than the Queen, who 
took the greatest trouble, introducing people to each 
other, going about constantly and speaking to every- 
body. She came up to me, putting her hand on my 
arm: "Die Kleine amiisirt sich .? " (Is the little one 
amusing herself?), and went on talking. The great 
interest to us was meeting the Benedettis, who are here 
from Berlin for a few days. They are always so kind 
and nice that it is a real pleasure to see them ; on this 
occasion they were in grandeur, however, and difficult 
to get at, always sitting with the Queen or other dis- 
tinguished people. We met them again the same 
evening at the v, Brienens', where they came with the 
Baudins. I had a long interesting talk with Benedetti, 



312 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

who told me about the negotiations at Nickolsburg 
in 1866, after the Prussian- Austrian War, and how 
difficult it was to get on with people who were 
quite off their heads with joy and pride at their 
successes. The next day we went with Herr von 
Behr, a school friend of C.'s, to see an exhibition of 
workmen's things at Amsterdam. Behr had a model 
house there which took the first prize at the great 
Paris Exhibition, and it was most interesting to hear 
all his explanations about it, and see all the comfortable 
and ingenious arrangements he has contrived. We 
came back late and tired, to find a note from Mme. 
Baudin, asking us in Mme. Benedetti's name to go 
that same evening to their house, to hear the Baroness 
Vigier (Cruvelli) sing. The Queen had invited herself, 
there would be only the Legation, and the Benedettis 
asked us as old friends. It would have been delightful ; 
but besides being dreadfully tired, it was already too 
late when we arrived, so we had to send excuses, to our 
very great regret. 

You may imagine how delighted we are at the good 
news of the Princess of Piedmont having a son. The 
Italian charge d' affaires sent to us as soon as he got the 
telegram, knowing what pleasure it would give us. It 
was also a real comfort to have had a letter from 
Mdlle. A. a day or two ago, announcing the arrival of 
Mrs. Lea, the nurse-elect, at Naples. The Princess is 
pleased with her, and she seems to be all one could 
wish. By this time I suppose she is *' dans I'exercise 
de ses fonctions," for she did not arrive at all too soon. 
I cannot tell you how glad I am that nurse episode is 
over, for it got into a dreadful mess. My sister-in-law 
E. and another lady, each with a nurse, were pursuing 
Mdlle. A. with letters and telegrams from Monza to 



THE HAGUE 313 

Naples, frantic at getting no answers. Meanwhile 
Mdlle. A. was at Perugia, where none of her English 
letters had been forwarded, complaining and bewailing 
the loss of time on her side. Then they all wrote 
furious letters to me. However, it is all right now, 
and I can only hope Mrs. Lea ^ will turn out well. 

It is perfectly astonishing how dull life feels here. ^^^' ^7- 
I think it must depend to a certain degree on the 
additional weight of atmosphere above our heads, 
from the country being under the level of the sea. All 
our colleagues say they feel it as soon as they cross the 
frontier. In general I do not require much outside 
help to pass my time, but though I have a certain 
amount of visits and people are quite kind, the days 
seem endless, and one feels habitually bored. C. has 
been writing a report on the sugar question, which has 
been very grievous to him, but as Perponcher is ex- 
pected back daily, even the little occupation C. has at 
present is likely to cease. He moans over this 
prospect very much, and it really is difficult, for 
one cannot read all day. In some respects I am better 
off, for I have B.'s lessons to look after, and the cook, 
who always talks a lot of Dutch ; and then I copy in the 
picture gallery occasionally, when it is not too dark 
all day to see, and then there is work and other 
feminine resources, although I have the dismal dumps 
often enough too. Happily we do not generally have 
fits of despondency at the same time, so that we can 
manage to laugh at each other in turn, which is a help. 
Enough of that, however ; we must get on as we 
best can ! 

^ Mrs. Lea remained in the Italian royal service till her death. 
She was treated with the greatest kindness and visited to the end by 
her royal nursling, long after he had outgrown her care. 



314 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

M. Jacobson paid us a long visit the other day and 
went into ecstasies over my drawings. He appears to 
be an elderly and Dutch admirer of mine, and it was 
rather pleasant to be told that I was " artiste jusqu'au 
bout des ongles " by the first art amateur at the 
Hague. 

The diplomatic mind here is much exercised as to 
the fetes of November 17th, and as to how far we 
shall be expected to join in them. A monument is to be 
unveiled on that day, to commemorate the deliverance 
of the country from French occupation and the return 
of the House of Orange in 1815. One does not 
exactly see why the Corps diplomatique should join in 
a national demonstration against France. But it is 
said on the other hand that the populace here is apt to 
be tyrannical on such occasions, and quite capable of 
actively resenting anything that might look, like want 
of sympathy with their feelings. Most of the Chefs 
de Mission, amonofst whom the French Minister of 
course, have taken leave of absence and got themselves 
out of the way. C. wrote to Perponcher about it, but 
he only advised asking for directions from Berlin or 
consulting the other colleagues, both of which C. 
might have done by his own unassisted light. 

Last week the inauguration of the monument caused 
unusual excitement in the town. C. went to the 
ceremony in full uniform, and B. and I had the 
pleasure of decking him out in all his decorations. 
The fete seems to have been curious and amusing ; 
there was a great procession, all sorts of corporations, 
with banners and bouquets, passing before the royal 
stand. Their bows were peculiar and republican ; many 
in the cortege smoked the whole time, and did not even 
take their cigars out of their mouths as they passed 



THE HAGUE 315 

the Queen. Later in the day B. and I went to the 
Legation to see the procession, which it was said would 
pass the Vyverberg. We had orange bows on, for you 
could not venture into the streets otherwise, without 
running the risk of being insulted, or even being 
painted orange, as happened to some people. The 
Legation looked very well with three tremendous 
banners almost down to the ground waving before it, 
one of them Nord-Deutsche Bund, one Prussian white 
and black, and the third orange. We waited in vain, 
for the procession took another way and never came 
by the Vyverberg at all. 

The great event here at present is the arrival of the Nov. 28. 
Prince of Wied, who it is generally supposed is 
destined to be the future husband of Princess Marie, 
daughter of Prince Frederick of the Netherlands and 
his wife, Princess Louise of Prussia. Our Legation is 
of course much interested in the marriage, as the 
Princess is a niece of our King, and we ourselves are 
particularly so, from knowing the Prince personally, 
as well as his sister, Princess Elizabeth of Wied, 
who has just been married to Prince Karol of 
Roumania.i C, who is charge d'affaires at present, 
went to see the Prince at once, to put himself "a 
sa disposition." 

I had just written this when the servant, a German, 
opened the door and announced, with much apparent 
satisfaction, " Seine Durchlaucht der Fiirst Wied " 
(His Serene Highness the Prince of Wied). He paid 
us a very nice visit, talking and laughing quite 
pleasantly. He said his sister had told him a great 
deal about her visit to Florence. Pastor Quandt's 
sermon at the German church this morning seemed to 
^ The present King and Queen of Roumania. 



3i6 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

have struck him very much, which is not astonishing, as 
he is quite a remarkable preacher. The Prince could 
not stay long, as he was under orders to go to the 
Huis de Paauw (House of the Peacock) in the 
country, the residence of his bride-elect. 

We are living in a state of perpetual small excite- 
ment about the Wied affairs. It is rather an awkward 
position for C, as his Chief may arrive at any moment 
and he does not wish to put himself forward for the 
few days he may still be charge d'affaires. We went, 
however, to the Huis de Paauw, Prince Frederick's 
country palace, in pouring rain, hoping to see the 
Princess Marie. The beginning was not auspicious. 
Mdlle. van Doom van Westcapelle, the Princess's lady, 
was out, and of course we could not ask directly for 
H.R.H. We saw, however, one of the Princess 
Frederick's ladies, Mdlle. van Suchtelen van der Haare, 
and by the time we had finished our call Mdlle. van 
Doom had returned and took us at once to the 
Princess Marie's drawing-room. H.R.H. received us 
very cordially, as usual, and when I asked if we might 
be allowed to congratulate her, pressed my hand 
warmly. She said she knew Yv^r fiance had been to see 
us, and that we were acquainted with his family. She 
showed us some lovely portraits of the Princess of 
Roumania taken as Braut (betrothed), with and without 
Prince Karol, and kept us nearly an hour talking, in 
great spirits all the time. The Prince of Wied has 
been at the Loo to be presented to the King, and now 
one would think the marriage will be publicly an- 
nounced, for till the present time it has been, as the 
Princess Marie said herself, " le secret de la comedie." 
Then arise many questions. Shall we have to go and 
congratulate officially, and will there be any festivities } 



THE HAGUE 317 

Of course, if there are any I must put aside my black, ^ 
so that for two days past I have been busy looking 
over dresses, &c. 

I might have spared myself all thought and trouble 
about dresses. An invitation to dinner for to-day at 
the Huis de Paauw has come, but for C. alone. At 
first I was rather disappointed, but now laziness is 
prevailing, and I feel glad to be spared the trouble of a 
grande toilette and the long cold drive. C. will come 
in for all the honours, I hope, as the formal Verlobung 
(betrothal) is to take place. The Queen is to be there 
and all the grandees, but he will be the only diplomat, 
so it will be an interesting occasion, 

C.'s grand dinner went off very well, though stiffly, ^^c. 18. 
There was cercle before dinner for the Queen. Then 
the doors opened and the Prince of Wied and Princess 
Marie appeared, and went round receiving the congratu- 
lations of all present. Prince Frederick presented all the 
" Hof-Chargen " (court dignitaries) to his future son- 
in-law, but when he came to C. he said : " Herr von 
Bunsen brauch ich dir nicht vorzustellen " (There is no 
need to present M. de Bunsen to thee). The Queen 
was very gracious to C, and so were all the " Hohe 
Herrschaften." All the ladies who were there belonged 
to the Court in their own right (husbands did not 
bring their wives), so that my not being asked was 
explained. The dinner was very sumptuous and the 
Prince of Orange proposed the health of the fianch. 
After dinner cercle again, and then it was over. 

Count Bibra, who composes the whole suite of the 
Prince of Wied, came to bid goodbye yesterday, bring- 
ing a polite message from the Prince, who was afraid 
he would not be able to come himself. Bibra seemed 
^ I was in deep mourning for my father. 



31 8 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

much pleased at all having gone off well and his Prince 
being really fianci in the face of the world at last. 
There had been so many delays that people were 
getting suspicious about it. 

After three chapters of Stanley I feel it necessary to 
make a change, so sit down to write — not that I feel in 
a mood for correspondence — rather the contrary, for I 
have been unusually sleepy and lazy, even for here, for 
several days past. The Perponchers have returned, 
which is a real pleasure. Baroness v. D. is very kind, 
and spends an evening with us about once a week. I 
go to see her on the days when she is in waiting, as 
after driving out with the Queen she generally is at 
liberty till dinner-time, although she must not leave 
the palace. It is not very easy to get to her, for the 
town palace has only one entrance, and you have to 
inquire for the person you want of a grand porter, who 
sits in a sort of hooded Scheveningen chair. If one is 
on foot, one is apt to feel rather insignificant. More- 
over, the other evening just as I got in there was a call, 
" Der Prins van Oranien " (Prince of Orange, born at 
the Hague, 1840) (Dutch), and I had just time 
to get out of his way as he came in on foot, in a 
shooting jacket and Tyrolean hat, going up the grand 
staircase two or three steps at a time, to see his mother, 
I suppose. Even when the porter is safely passed, 
one's troubles are not over. He consigns you to a 
grand and generally cross-looking servant, who takes you 
up the grand staircase and through the first salon of the 
Queen's apartment to a corridor which leads to H.M. 
private rooms. It is only there that one gets to a 
private back staircase and to less exalted regions. 
Baroness van D. has two very nice rooms in the second 
storey, and there we have pleasant chats. The other 




BARONESS DE BRIENEN. 



To face p. 319.] 



THE HAGUE 319 

day, after sitting with her for some time, I called on 
Baroness de B., the beauty of the Hague, who is most 
strikingly handsome. She gave me a cup of tea at 
four in the afternoon, which is a new fashion people 
are adopting here now, and a very pleasant one.^ The 
next day I had a good many visits, Mme. Baudin 
(France) among the number, very elegant in a velvet 
jacket and tunic trimmed with fur over a black satin 
skirt, and her hair half down her back. Also Mme. 
Schimmel-Penninck, who came to ask B. to go and play 
with her children, at which I was much pleased, for 
they are extremely nice. 

I must give you an account of our Christmas-tree — a Dec. 26. 
fir-tree for the first time, as we always had laurel in 
Italy, and I must confess to melancholy remembrances 
of the bright glistening leaves that used to light up so 
well. Perponcher, however, who came in to ask us 
to their Christmas-tree, would not sympathise at all. 
In his eyes laurel was only a ps aller when one 
could not get the real thing. We had a good many 
people — eight little children from Java, whom I had 
invited as they live in this house, and about a dozen 
individuals whom I had never set eyes on, brought 
promiscuously by our proprietaire^ rather to my indig- 
nation. However, it all went off well, and after the 
presents were distributed, the children all had Gluhwein 
(hot spiced wine) and what are called here letters. These 
are letters cut out in pastry on a large scale, and filled 
with some sort of almond stuff inside which is very good. 
B. had a cooking stove amongst her presents which really 
cooks ! We tried it yesterday, and when the water 

^ How people had managed to exist till then without afternoon 
tea seems difficult to believe, but this was the first time I ever 
remember partaking of it. 



320 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

began to boil I was almost as much excited as she was. 
She was much flattered : " Ce n'est pas souvent mamna 
que Beatrice a des joujoux qui t'amusent aussi." 

After our own tree we went to the German church, 
where there was a big one for the school-children, com- 
bined with a service. This was not very successful, as 
there were crowds of Dutch people trying to get in all 
the time, and much noise and pushing about. As soon 
as the service was over we went ofF to the Perponcher 
tree — our third that day ! There we found all the 
children in the Chief's study, waiting in feverish excite- 
ment while the Count and Countess were mysteriously 
occupied upstairs. Presently Perponcher appeared, and 
asked us to come up for a first look, telling the 
children, " Sie sollen da bleiben und sie kriegen gar 
nichts " (You must stay there, and you will get 
nothing at all), whereat they laughed incredulously. 
The sight upstairs was one of the prettiest I ever 
saw : the inner drawing-room was brilliantly lighted, 
and in the midst stood the tree, most tastefully adorned 
— the first really German one I had ever seen. On 
each side of the room was a row of tables, spread with 
white cloths, and covered with a most tempting array 
of presents. As soon as we had seen it all the children 
were called up, and entered what must have seemed to 
them quite a fairyland of bliss. The tables were then 
appropriated, and the exclamations of pleasure on all 
sides were delightful to hear. There was a little table 
for B., one for Herr von Scheven, the head of the 
Chancellerie. All the servants had cakes and appro- 
priate things ; no one was forgotten. The poor 
Countess was in a great state of mind ; she had 
hidden away the presents for her husband so well that 
it was some time before she could find them. As for 







COMTESSE DE PERTONCHER. 



To face p. 320.] 



THE HAGUE 321 

herself, she told me the Count always gave her a 
handsome dress. She had so many uses for her money 
she hated spending it on dress, " et une belle robe 
tous les ans aide vraiment beaucoup ; elle me 
servira pour toutes les soirees de cet hiver." It was 
pretty to see the children flying to their mother with 
their thanks after the first enraptured survey, " Mama, 
ich habe A lies was ich gewunscht habe " (I have all 
my wishes). They hung round her neck and kissed 
her hands. It was a very pretty family scene. 

When arranging our Christmas dinner I found that 
turkeys are dreadfully expensive here — 7 gulden, about 
II to 15 frs. — so I carried the matter to C, who 
decided in favour of the turkey, provided we had 
somebody to share it with us. So we asked Scheven 
and the Baroness D. It seems that according to 
etiquette here the Queen, who can do with one maid of 
honour all day long, must have two to dine with her, 
and the D. had undertaken to be the second one on 
Christmas Day, so we had Scheven alone. 

We really suffer quite terribly from the cold ; it 
keeps us awake at night. Auguste (the maid) calls it 
" eine feine Kalte " (a delicate cold), which seems 
to creep in, despite of fire in the room and any 
amount of covering and precaution. 

C. and I sat out the Old Year very quietly together. J^"^- 7> 
We opened the window to hear the chimes of the 
Groote Kerk (big church) strike twelve, then we had a 
quiet glass of punch and went to bed. We have had 
cold, bright weather lately, with a good deal of snow, 
and there have been sledges, some of them very pretty, 
going about with much tinkling of bells and with their 
occupants well wrapped up in furs. Mme, Baud in 
asked us to pass the New Year's evening with them 

22 



322 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

en petit comitL This turned out to mean pretty much 
the whole usual set, and at first I felt quite confused 
by the lights and the noise of voices, after my long 
seclusion in mourning. On the whole, I was rather 
glad not to have another solitary evening, for, as 
Baudin said, " C'est un de ces jours ou Ton se compte." 
Monday was the Court ball, and I was at last presented 
to the King. We were just a little late, and I saw 
Mme. de Perponcher looking out anxiously for me to 
come and take up my place behind her. We had still 
long to wait before the Queen came in, looking very 
well, with magnificent diamonds. She went down the 
row and the King came afterwards. Mme. de 
Perponcher named me, whereupon he gave me a 
look, muttered something, and went on. Neverthe- 
less, the Countess seemed quite relieved " que cela 
c'etait si bien passe." Then their Majesties proceeded 
to the ball-room and dancing began. I did not know 
many people, but Baudin, who seems to have got a 
quiet friendship for me, gave me his arm and took me 
about, showing me people and things. Precisely at 
midnight the music ceased, and we all went oflF. 

*' Une chose en amene une autre." The next 
evening we had to go to Mme. Rocst van Limburg's 
reception (Foreign Affairs), where I had not yet 
appeared. She is an American, no longer young, but 
very agreeable and well dressed. Most people went 
off to Mme. Baudin's, who receives on the same 
evening, but we did the thing in style and stayed on. 
Mme. Rocst got quite confidential, and made me turn 
all round to show my dress, which she pronounced a 
great success, black and woollen though it is. It is the 
first the woman Countess R. recommended me in Paris 
has sent, and besides being stylish is very practical, 



THE HAGUE 323 

a deux corsages, and with a "pouf," which can be let 
down and forms a train at night. At present it has to 
do for all occasions, but I hope to get the next ones 
soon. 

The next day C. dined at Knorring's (Russia), who 
has just returned from Paris, bringing us kind mes- 
sages from our old friend and colleague at Turin, Count 
Stackelberg. The dinner, it seems, was '* tout ce qu'il 
y a de plus fin," served on silver and old china, and 
the conversation most interesting. All the guests, 
about six, were discussing the most interesting debates 
they had heard. Knorring asked C. (who was 
bescheiden, as all the others were Chefs de Mission), 
and he answered the debate about the cession of 
Nice between Cavour and Garibaldi ; this made 
rather a sensation, and certainly during his time in 
Italy C. has come across much that was interesting and 
exciting. 

It is high time we should be thinking of our plans Jan. 26. 
and of getting away from here, for we are all getting 
frightfully lazy ! We have very little to do, and even 
that little we find a burden. C. lies about all day, 
under pretext of a cold, reading deep theological books. 
He refuses to pay visits, even quite urgent ones, won't 
go to the Chancellerie, gets up late, munches bonbons, 
and in short does everything most opposed to all his 
former habits. Till now he used to write letters at 
the Chancellerie, but as the Government has again 
made a fuss about postage and we are obliged to pay 
for our letters, it is no use writing superfluous ones. 
This sort of stagnant life feels odd and decidedly dull, 
after what we have been used to. 

Saturday we were reckoning on a quiet evening 
when we received an invitation " pour le the de la 



324 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

Reine," for the same evening. Preparations there 
were scarcely any for me to make, for, as Auguste 
remarked, the choice of a dress was not difficult, there 
being only the one I told you of, as no new ones have 
arrived yet. We had to be there at nine and found 
the Queen alone. She was sitting near the fire, not as 
usual on the sofa, entrenched behind a table. It was 
rather stiff at first, as such things always are, but C. 
talked remarkably well, and the Queen, getting animated, 
told many anecdotes, and as she knows everybody and 
is so clever, the conversation was most interesting. 
Indeed, I found the dame d'honneur^ Mme. de Papst, 
who made her appearance later, rather in the way, as 
she would talk to me in whispers when I would much 
rather have listened to what was going on. Tea 
was handed round, and at ten a small table was brought 
in ready laid for four people and placed in a corner of 
the room. The Queen got up, and saying she hoped 
we liked oysters, led the way to it. Fortunately we 
do like them, for there was nothing else, but they were 
very good ; we had some punch to drink and it was 
altogether rather jolly — the Queen on a sofa, I in an 
armchair on her right, C. to her left, and Mme. de 
Papst opposite H.M. Our carriage had been ordered 
at half-past ten, for according to Dutch custom the 
servants when you arrive anywhere tell you at what 
hour you are to go away. We sat on, however, chat- 
ting at the supper-table, till the Queen, who had been 
laughing very much at some of C.'s stories, got up^ 
suddenly, said it was midnight, gave me her hand, and] 
departed. It was not quite midnight, but over half- 
past eleven, so we can hope that H.M, did not 
bore herself too much. This thi de la Reine is 
peculiar institution, but as her Majesty talks bettei 



THE HAGUE 325 

than most of her subjects and is very good company, it 
is rather enjoyable than otherwise. 

I am afraid it is so long since I wrote that I might ^^b. 5. 
give you quite a long list of solemn dinners and parties. 
Then there was a the dansant at Court. At the cercle 
I was screened from any rays of royalty by being 
ensconced behind Mme. de Perponcher's rather ample 
figure, but the Queen came up very kindly afterwards, 
asking how I was " depuis I'autre soir." The King 
also spoke to me, and I got on very well. A Belgian 
secretary, who evidently had experience of such func- 
tions, took me in to supper, and managed to get in 
just as the first batch of grandees was coming out. As 
we came in M. de Knorring (Russia) rushed up, "Per- 
mettez, madame, que je vous offre une chaise," and he 
instantly established himself beside me, the Bavarian on 
the other side, leaving the astonished Belgian to his own 
devices. He made a very good supper notwithstanding, 
but has not forgotten the incident yet, and never meets 
me without alluding to it. " II faut avouer que M. de 
Knorring s'est empare de vous, madame, I'autre soir 
d'une facon," &c. When the cotillon began Baroness 
D., who does not dance, asked me to walk about with 
her in the deserted rooms, which were all brilliantly 
lighted. C, however, soon put an end to this, declar- 
ing that as the King was gone there was no earthly 
reason for staying any longer, so we went, leaving the 
poor D.. who was de service and had to stay till the 
very end. 



CHAPTER XVII 

Sight-seeing — Reception at M. de Knorring's — Madame Groeninx' 
ball — Audience of Prince and Princess Henry of the Nether- 
lands — Mr. Lecky — Visit to Moersberg — Declaration of war 
between France and Germany — Dinner at Huis de Paauw — 
Death of Princess Frederick — Sad Christmas. 

BESIDES an unusual amount of dissipation, C. and I 
have been sight-seeing. One day we went to the 
Library, where there is a fine collection of gems. 
Amongst others a beautiful head of Livia, supposed 
to be the " pendant " of the Augustus of the Blacas 
collection. Yesterday we went by appointment with 
Syperstein, who is very well up in the history of the 
Hague, to see the Binnenhof and the Buitenhof in 
detail. Then we went to the Gevangen Poort and saw 
all the prisons, very interesting and very horrible. It 
is the place of the murder of the two de Witts. We 
saw the axe with which Olden Barnefelt was beheaded 
and the room for torture with all its instruments, which 
is enough to give you the horrors for some time after. 
We have been having a spell of cold weather and 
skating has been the great excitement. The beau 
monde of the Hague disport themselves on a canal in 
the garden of the Queen's country palace, Huis ten 
Bosch. It is quite a pretty sight, as everybody here 
skates well, being to the manner born. Even the old 
Court ladies skim along the ice like birds. Some of the 

diplomatic ladies were trying to learn, supported by 

326 



THE HAGUE 327 

gentlemen friends, and slipping and tumbling about in 
a most hopeless fashion. It certainly was not a grace- 
ful performance, and I was rather glad that C. had 
distinctly opposed my making any atttempts at acquir- 
ing this new accomplishment. — Last week there 
was a big soiree at Mme. van der Oudermeulen's, 
who is a nice portly old Court dame, grande mattresse 
to the Queen. She wears no chignon, but a respect- 
able blonde cap on her head with two white ostrich 
feathers at the top, and a tulle scarf over her ample 
shoulders. She is very benevolent, and it is said that 
whenever she has to give a grand dinner she carefully 
makes out the sum it costs her and sends the same 
amount to the poor. 

Before the party we had been to M. de Knorring's 
to hear the famous Mme. Mouhanoff,i who is staying 
with him, play Wagner, and we arrived rather late. 
The Court was there and the cercle was already formed, 
but Mme. van der Oudermeulen insisted on my joining 
it, and the Queen, who had already done that side, came 
back very kindly to shake hands and say a word. 
Soon she sat down to her partie at cards, to which 
Perponcher is always called. C. has been also sum- 
moned to it occasionally, but he does not play whist, 
which is really a drawback in diplomacy. Things were 
less stiff by this time and I was looking on at the 
dancing, when an elderly gentleman came up and said 
" How d'ye do ? " in English in a very friendly manner. 
I was on the point of holding out my hand, when it 
flashed upon me, just in time, that it was the King. 
He told me he had found out he could speak English 
with me as I was of English origin, and proceeded to 

^ Better known as Mme. Ralergis, nk de Nesselrode. She was 
celebrated at one time for her wonderful blonde beauty and great 
musical talent. 



328 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

tell me anecdotes of his youth, when he was much in 
England — of his first ball in London at Devonshire 
House, and how long his father had lived in England 
before going to serve under Wellington in Spain, and 
of the great festivities to celebrate the peace after the 
fall of Napoleon and the fearful crowds, &c. For a 
royal conversation it was really quite interesting, and 
it lasted a good long time. At first there was dancing 
going on, but when the waltz came to an end we were 
left alone in a corner, anyone who happened to ap- 
proach retiring precipitately on recognising H.M. C. 
also, it seems, had been apprised of the event. " Ne 
passez pas par la, le Roi cause avec Mme. de Bunsen." 
After that I got into a small quiet room with Baroness van 
D., had a comfortable supper, and then we came home. 

I think I last wrote on the day of Mme. Groeninx' 
ball, which was very pretty. On these occasions you 
at least get to see the inside of Dutch houses, which are 
generally handsome, with old furniture and china and 
some good pictures. In the daytime you are never 
admitted, unless by appointment. " Niet, Huis " (Not 
at home) is the invariable answer at every door. The 
other day I had on a new dress from Paris, which I 
should not have minded people seeing. I paid sixteen 
visits, and might as well have been in my dressing- 
gown, for not a single house did I get into. 

But to return to the Groeninx ball — I was informed 
there that the King of Holland had expressed his satis- 
faction as to the long conversation we had together : 
" Vous pouvez en etre tres flattee ; il est tres rare que 
le Roi cause aussi longtemps avec une dame." In con- 
sequence of this, H.M.'s aides-de-camp have promised 
us letters to see the Loo, and all sorts of civilities. 

On Monday we had our audience of the Prince and 




PALACE OF PRINCE HENRY OF THE NETHERLANDS IN THE 
LANGE VORHOUT. 



To face p. 329.] 



THE HAGUE 329 

Princess Henry, i who have come from Luxembourg on 
their annual visit to the Hague ; we had tried to beg 
off, as we had a rather stiff remembrance of our pre- 
sentation to them last spring, but the Perponchers were 
firm, and we had to write and ask to see them as if we 
particularly wished it. The Lococks 2 were ordered at 
a quarter to nine, and we at nine, so that it did not 
seem likely to last long. After a little whispering 
conversation in the first salon with the aides-de-camp 
and the lady-in-waiting, the Lococks came out and it 
was our turn to go in. Somehow, it always makes 
me think of the dentist's. The Prince and Princess 
were together. She graciously made room for me on 
the sofa by her and began talking of their journey 
(they have been to the East lately), of their stay at 
Naples, where she rested four days, after six days and 
nights of uninterrupted sea-sickness. She began speak- 
ing of the Princess of Piedmont, and seeing how 
much it interested me, good-naturedly entered into 
details. She said the Princess dresses her hair in plaits 
now, that she found her improved in appearance since 
her son was born, grown and stouter, very pale, but 
very lovely. She had seen her twice in the evening, 
always in pink velvet and very elegant and distinguee^ 
that she seemed very happy, that the baby is splendid, 
that the Neapolitans adore her and call her " I'angelo 
d'ltalia." You may imagine it was delightful to listen 
to all this, and I was almost sorry when a slight stir in 
the next room announced that another set of people 
had arrived. The Princess rose, shook hands, Prince 

^ Prince Henry of the Netherlands, brother of the King, Stadt- 
halter of the Duchy of Luxembourg, married to the Princess 
Amelia of Saxe-Weimar Eisenach. 

^ First Secretary to the English Legation. 



330 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

Henry pursued C, who was bowing himself out, in 
order to do likewise, and then made me a solemn bow, 
not having said one word, good, bad, or indifferent, to 
me the whole time. 
Mar. 13. We went with the E.'s to Haarlem in a snowstorm 
to see a show of hyacinths. It was quite a small affair 
in a room, but the flowers were well worth seeing, 
especially the wonderful amaryllis. Afterwards we 
went on to the Town House, which is picturesque out- 
side and full of interesting things. There is a collec- 
tion of pictures, schuterijs (shooting) dinners like the 
big Van der Heist at Amsterdam. Then there is a 
wonderful group of Dutch ladies in black with starched 
ruffles, members of the committee of the orphanage of 
Haarlem, sitting round a table, measuring linen and 
settling accounts ; it is most marvellously painted. We 
also saw a fearful collection of instruments of torture, 
more complete even than the one at the Gevangen 
Poort here, which horrified us the other day. 

The dancing-class I started for Beatrice is coming 
to an end, and I could write much about it. In 
one way it has been a great success, for the children 
have learned well, and people who would have 
nothing to do with it at first, have asked for their 
children to be admitted. The dancing always takes 
place at our house, instead of turn about at the different 
mamma's, as our drawing-room is decidedly the largest 
and the least encomhre with furniture, besides which 
there is the advantage of the old, rather threadbare 
carpet, " ou Ton glisse si bien," as Elizabeth Per- 
poncher told her mother. We had very nice children : 
our Chief's, who are charming, two beautiful little 
d'Yvoies, two Lococks, and on Thursdays little 
Knorring, the son of the Russian Minister. The last 



THE HAGUE 331 

comes in a grand coupS, and is magnificent in black 
velvet and scarlet stockings. He answers to the name 
of '*Lolocky," supposed to be an abbreviation ot 
'* Vladimir," and never forgets to send " Mes compli- 
ments a Beatrice, je vous prie," when I meet him. 
His father says he always has a bad night before the 
dancing lesson, the excitement is so great. Elizabeth 
Perponcher also nearly cried when she had a cold and 
was not allowed to come. As you see, it has been 
quite a popular institution, and my difficulties have 
been in trying to keep it quiet and simple and make 
the children come in their usual day-dresses. How- 
ever, a sort of chifFon-fever came over the little girls, 
and they thought of nothing but new frocks and 
criticising each other's appearance ! It made me quite 
cross, for I hate such nonsensical notions for children, 
but it was almost impossible to check. To-morrow is 
the last lesson and they will probably come in all their 
finery ; however, I am giving them chocolate and cakes 
as a treat for the wind up, and we shall part in charity. 
C, has got his leave, and we hope to start for Berlin in 
a few days. 

All our old friends here are most kind, and we have Berlin, 
got into the whirl of Berlin again. The word Ahendbrot 
Gesellschaften (tea and supper parties) seem perfectly 
amusing after the Hague. On Thursday we were 
ordered to the Queen's reception, and went there after 
dining with the Lima's. Some people recognised me 
from last year, some looked puzzled — perhaps by the 
little curls which I now wear on my forehead, and 
for which you must prepare your mind. The King 
was particularly gracious ; he had bowed to me vaguely, 
then I suppose had asked Perponcher, the Hof-Marschall 
(Lord Chamberlain), brother of our Chief, who I was, 



332 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

for he came back and said, " Ach, verzeihen sie, ich 
habe sie nicht gleich wieder erkannt. Sie kommen 
jetzt vom Flatten Lande, nicht wahr ? " (Ah, forgive, 
I did not recognise you directly. You come now from 
the Low Countries ?) He was most kind and nice and 
also talked a long time with C. After the cercle. 
Countess Haacke, one of the Queen's ladies, took 
charge of me (she is a sister of the Baronne d'Ablaing 
at the Hague) and established me at her particular 
table. All the company sit round a number of small 
tables and talk. As we passed up the room we came 
by the Queen's, which is in the middle. I made my 
curtsey, and her Majesty stopped me, inquiring about 
my mother-in-law, and talking on without waiting for 
an answer, as is her wont. We had a first-rate concert, 
with Lucea and Niemann, and when it was over the 
" Hohe Herrschaften " (royalties) led the way into 
another large room, where a French play was given 
by the actors of the French theatre here. When we 
returned to our tables they were laid out for supper, 
and when we had partaken of that we returned to the 
hotel at one in the morning. The Crown Prince is 
away, unfortunately, which is a great disappointment. 
We hope to go on to Carlsruhe, and from thence to 
France and to you all. 



After a short stay in Berlin, we went to France, 
dividing our time between our relations there. Little 
did we dream that all that fair land would soon 
be plunged in the horrors of war, and that the peaceful 
country houses where we were passing such pleasant 
days would soon be occupied by German soldiers. 

What was to follow almost immediately was the 
more unexpected because the Due de Gramont, who 



THE HAGUE 333 

had just assumed the direction of foreign aflFairs, was 
supposed to be quite peacefully inclined. Nevertheless, 
we had scarcely reached the Hague, where our old 
Turin friend Mdlle. A. accompanied us, when the 
storm raised by the candidature of the Prince ot 
Hohenzollern to the throne of Spain burst in all its fury. 



We arrived here all right last night at about ten, The 
found a comfortable supper awaiting us, and all the June 30, 
rooms shining with cleanliness. So far, all was very ^ ^°* 
nice, but it is bitterly cold, and the sky dark and 
gloomy. Mdlle. A. declared, when she first saw a 
Dutch landscape at Moerdyke, " que c'etait du gris 
sur du gris ! " She is, however, enchanted with 
Holland at present, excepting the cold. 

After all, we have found a good deal to do, and have July 7. 
by no means settled down yet. The weather, too, was 
so detestable that it was difficult to get about. To- 
day is beautiful, the sun shining for the first time since 
our return, and everything looking nice and gay. 
Great part of our time till now has been spent in 
putting ourselves en regie as to visits, presentations, 
&c. I announced myself to the Queen on Monday 
and was received on Tuesday, which was kind and 
satisfactory as far as that goes. She seemed very sad 
— Lord Clarendon was a great friend of hers and his 
death has affected her much. She asked if Mdlle. A. 
was with us, and said she would like to see her. 
Happily we had already asked Bertinatti, the new 
Italian Minister, to request an audience for her. He 
did not know how to set about it, however, so that 
the Queen lost patience, and desired the Baroness 
V. D. to write and appoint an hour without further 
delay. While I was still with the Queen, the 



334 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

Prince of Wied, who is on a visit to his fiancky 
was announced, and her Majesty got up, say- 
ing she could not keep him waiting. She then 
shook hands quite affectionately, saying, " God bless 
you, I have been very glad to see you." She is 
expecting M. Mohl, who had written to her from 
Bourneville, and also the young author, Mr. Lecky. 
As I went out I met the Prince of Wied in the great 
painted hall, for the Queen is now at the Huis ten 
Bosch for the summer, 

I have just been interrupted by Baroness v. D. and 
Mr. Lecky taking refuge here during a violent storm. 
Mr. Lecky is decidedly very nice, saying funny things 
in a quiet, soft voice. He was at Rome last winter, 
and told us about the Council and a Hungarian bishop 
who got too classical in his anger, and, after summing 
up in Latin the heads of a speech made by his 
adversary, declared *' by the immortal gods " it was 
impossible to listen patiently to such nonsense. 

You may imagine how astonished and disturbed we 
have been at all these threatening rumours in the news- 
papers after leaving everything so quiet in France a 
few days ago. It is so curious, too, to think of the 
Due de Gramont, whom we all knew at Turin as a tres 
grand seigneur and an amiable colleague, but who was 
not taken tres au sirieux^ coming out in such a new 
and alarming light. Surely all this does not really 
mean war ? 

We are going off to-day to the country to pay a 
long-promised visit to the d'A.'s. It is rather a 
nuisance just at present, when one lives upon news, 
and when no one knows what a day may bring forth. 
C, of course, cannot go, and it is only because Mme. 
d'A. insisted so kindly, asking us to bring both Mdlle. 



THE HAGUE 335 

A. and B., that I have accepted for two days. There is 
to be a ball at Court next Monday for some Russian 
Grand Duke, for which we were to return, but if there 
is to be war I do not suppose it will take place. We 
have been going through most violent and unpleasant 
emotions with this Hohenzollern business. It really 
seems hardly possible, after leaving you in France 
scarcely a fortnight ago without the slightest idea of 
this coming storm. So-called Parliamentary govern- 
ment in France looks almost more dangerous to the 
peace of Europe than the Emperor's gouvernement per- 
sonnel. It is little use talking about it, but how is one 
to help it, when one can think of nothing else .? Mr. 
Locock, of the English Legation, has just been here 
and says he cannot believe in war — that now the Prince 
of Hohenzollern has withdrawn his candidature to the 
throne of Spain there is no sufficient pretext. God 
grant he may be right ! We were at the Archery 
Club, which is very fashionable here, this afternoon. 
The Prince of Orange, who was there, was very civil 
and asked me to present him to Mdlle. A. While he 
was talking with her one of his aides-de-camp came in 
and showed him a paper very quietly. The Prince 
read it and resumed his shooting. We heard after- 
wards it was the despatch about our King refusing to 
receive Benedetti. Yesterday evening at Scheveningen 
there was great excitement about all the news. We 
exchanged very amical honsoirs with Baudin (French 
Minister), who looked excited and rather exhilarated. 
The Queen was there and paid the Jacobsons a visit, 
being in need of someone to talk to, I suppose. She 
was in very low spirits and regretted more than ever 
the death of Lord Clarendon, as she thinks his influence 
might have stopped all this. Although she is German 



336 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

by birth, Queen Sophie is so attached to the Emperor 
Napoleon and to her French connections that her 
sympathies are entirely on the French side. 

(To my husband.) So war is to be ! You must 
have heard it just after we left, or did you know it 
already } We got here quite successfully yesterday 
evening. The house is charming : an old mediaeval 
castle surrounded by a moat, beautifully restored and 
arranged. Our hosts most kind ; many regrets for 
you, and hopes you will come another time. I hope so 
too, and not at such an agitated moment. This place 
is really a Paradise, and the interior of Holland well 
worth seeing. If only men were not so wickedly 
foolish ! 

We returned from Moersbergen yesterday, to our 
great relief, for it was dreadful just at this moment to 
be au fond de la campagne^ where one heard no news 
and could only see Dutch newspapers. We were cer- 
tainly much impressed with the studied and excessive 
comfort of Dutch life. The great importance of meals, 
the amount of food, the particular excellence of the 
tea, of the coffee, of the chocolate, of the cream, of 
the fruit, of everything, in fact. But the whole time 
of our stay the words of Scripture, " Man doth not 
live by bread alone," were running in my head, and I 
rather sympathised with Mdlle. A., who bored herself 
horribly, and declared " qu'elle avait en vie de leur jeter 
toute cette mangeaille a la tete." It was most unfair, 
as our hosts were hospitality itself, and it was not their 
fault that our nerves were on edge and our minds 
totally engrossed in another direction. I must allow, 
however, that it was trying to be seriously consulted as 
to whether we should prefer the salad being mixed with 
cream or oil, and did we like salt, or pepper, or both, 



THE HAGUE 337 

just when one was longing for the post to arrive and 
wondering what new developments had taken place. 
The Dutch papers came twice a day, and I certainly 
learnt more Dutch in those two days, thanks to my 
anxiety to know what was going on, than in the whole 
past year. The news that greeted us on our arrival 
was Gramont's warlike declaration to the Chambers, 
which put an end to all uncertainty. That first 
night at Moersbergen I shall never forget. I seemed 
to hear all the warlike preparations that were going 
on during those quiet hours, the incessant working 
of telegraphs, the sad partings, the assembling and 
marching of troops, the gay insouciant entrain of the 
French soldiers, which I remember from Italy, the 
quiet determination of the Northern races ! I never 
passed such a night : the air seemed alive with all that 
was going on. It was very warm, and the window of 
a little salon between my room and B.'s was open. I 
tried walking about, and could see the dark outlines of 
the trees reflected in the moat beneath, and the ducks 
disporting themselves in the moonlight (I never knew 
before that ducks sat up all night !). Altogether I 
never got any sleep before daylight while we were at 
Moersbergen, and that and the terrible excitement has 
irritated my nerves to a degree which, Mdlle. A. 
assures me, makes my company anything but agreeable. 
Auguste has a brother in the Prussian army, and many 
relations who will be called out in case of war, so you 
may imagine what her feelings are. Altogether we 
were very glad to come back here, where, at least, one 
hears more news ; otherwise I do not see that it is 
much better, excepting that we can sleep and don't 
see so much of the ducks. When we passed 
Utrecht yesterday there was a great stir of Dutch 

23 



338 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

troops all moving to the frontier to protect the 
neutrality. 
July 31. I feel quite paralysed as to writing. We live very 

quietly here, and are all well " unherufen " except poor 
Auguste, who has been nearly out of her mind. It 
seems her whole native town of Arolsen is nearly 
deserted : all the men gone to the war. When one 
thinks of the amount of suffering already gone through, 
even before the war has begun, one does feel bitterly 
about the cceur leger of the men who have brought all 
this upon us. 

One thing they have done, however, although unin- 
tentionally. They have made Germany, for the intense 
enthusiasm which is now uniting the country from one 
end to the other certainly owes its source to the intense 
indignation they have excited. I really do not wish to 
approach this subject, and yet it is impossible not to 
say something of it. In every house here they are 
making " charpie " and bandages for the Red Cross 
Association, which, as you know, is international — 
sixteen assistants are ready to go off at a moment's 
notice with a hospital tent and all appliances to tend the 
wounded on either side. 

Poor Mdlle. A. must find the Hague very dull, I am 
afraid, not but that she maintains she likes Holland 
extremely. But now that all the men are gone to 
the frontier to guard the neutrality there is absolutely 
nothing going on here. 

So far we are on very good terms with our enemies 
of the French Legation ; of course, we do not visit, but 
we bow and shake hands, and even speak occasionally. 

The Dutch care almost exclusively for their own 
affairs, and so long as the dykes continue to stand, 
don't mind much if all Europe is at loggerheads. Of 



THE HAGUE 339 

course, the dykes are a matter of life and death to 
them — to us too, as long as we are here — but they 
hardly look beyond. 

The life we lead here is very much the same as yours, Aug. 18. 
reading newspapers and making " charpie." What a 
comfort it is that Normandy is well out of the way of 
all that is going on. When will it all end ? I don't 
think I ever felt so miserable before, for I was always 
so sure of your sympathy, and now I feel in a measure 
cut off from it. We have had nothing of late to 
chequer the monotony of our existence. Newspapers 
more or less all day, varied by despatches, often of a 
most contradictory nature, and all in Dutch. We take 
in the Times, the Independance Beige, the Cologne Gazette, 
a Dutch and an Austrian paper, besides another German 
one, so you may imagine it takes time to master their 
contents. 

We scarcely see anyone. Society seems to have 
ceased for the present, and sea-bathing is our great 
resource. Every day one hopes for some conclusion, 
and every day the war goes on. 

We have had so much bad news lately one is almost Sept. 3. 
afraid to open a letter. Poor Jasmund, the one who 
was at Florence with our Crown Prince, is dead. Who 
would have thought, in those bright days two years 
ago, that he was so soon to lie on a battlefield ! C.'s 
old friend Kanitz, at whose house we have passed so 
many pleasant evenings in Berlin, dead or wounded. 
My brother-in-law G. writes that every one in Berlin 
is in mourning. May the news from Sedan this 
morning be the beginning of the end ! ^ 

What can I say but that I think of you continually Sept. 16. 

^ The Emperor Napoleon surrendered at Sedan on September 2nd 
with all his army. 



340 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

and am very miserable ? — if that could help in any 
way. C. is most kind and sympathising, and we have 
at least the blessing that we feel for each other and are 
not divided in these dreadful days. He has always so 
dreaded the idea of a war with France. 

After just the first moment of hearing of Sedan we 
feared that the Emperor Napoleon giving himself up 
would not help matters, and so it has turned out. 

Our poor neighbours of the French Legation are in a 
most dreadful state, we hear. She dresses only in black 
and does nothing but cry. He is also quite upset. 
I met him accidentally in a shop, and we almost wrung 
each other's hands off, but there was nothing one could 
say. They have given their servants warning and are 
packing their things, as, of course, the Government 
they represent having fallen, they must go. They will 
be universally regretted here. 

Sept, 25. The weather is splendid and we have begun bathing 
again, being rid of coughs and colds for the present. 
The late baths at Scheveningen are said to be the best. 
We go there by the canal boat or " Trechschuyt," 
which is towed by horses through rather pretty 
country. After the bath we walk back to warm our- 
selves, as the water is very cold. The rest of the 
day is filled up with newspapers, B.'s lessons, &c. 
Mdlle. A. has made up her mind to go soon, and 
after the very bad cough she has had I am really 
anxious she should go before a return of bad weather. 
The trains seem to run at present, but everything is so 
irregular that it will be a relief to know she is safe 
back at Vienna. 

Oct. 23. There is much talk of peace and armistices just at 

present, and, on the principle of there being no smoke 
without fire, I would fain believe in it. 




p. WADDINGTON AS CAPTAIN 

ARTILLERY IN THE FRENCH 

NATIONAL GUARD. 



To face p. 341.] 



THE HAGUE 341 

We have had an event in our quiet life. Yesterday 
there came suddenly an invitation to dine with Prince 
Frederick at his country place, the Huis de Paauw. 
The dinner was in honour of his sister-in-law, the 
Grand Duchess of Mecklenberg-Schwerin, who is also 
sister to our King. There were only the Legation, 
besides the " Hohe Herrschaften " and their suites. 
The Grand Duchess is a dear old lady, with a cap 
and a lace harbe tied loosely under her chin, which 
looks very quaint and nice. She was very gracious, and 
so was the Princess Marie, who herself presented me 
to her aunt. There was much talk of the war and the 
desire for peace. " Mais avec qui la faire } " Old 
Prince Frederick was in the campaign of 1815. The 
lady who is here with the Grand Duchess is in deep 
mourning for a brother lost before Metz. She went 
there for a few days to nurse him, and told me no one 
could form any idea of the horrors of war and of what 
the wounded endure until they had seen it with their 
own eyes. 

The Queen and all her entourage are quite French in Nov. 1. 
their feelings, and our Chief has advised us to keep out 
of H.M.'s way for the present, as it seems the mere 
sight of Germans is too much for her and she cannot 
be ordinarily civil. 

Since I got your letter this afternoon I have felt 
quite struck down.i Somehow I had never thought 
that R. would take an active part in the war. It 
would be impossible to say how this goes to my 
heart. However, it is no use to dwell on the agony ; 
we must bear our share of these fearful calamities, 
and certainly, as far as feeling the sorrows, I am as 

^ My brother, Richard Waddington, had volunteered to serve in 
the artillery of the National Guard. 



342 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

nearly united to you all as it is possible. I really 

thought all was as bad as it could be, and little dreamt 

how much suffering could still be added. 

Nov. 15. The news of R. took a load from my heart. There 

is a wretched correspondent of the Standard who writes 

from Rouen, and who described the hills around white 

with snow, all the roads in slush — *' fearful weather for 

troops either marching or bivouacking." I almost 

grudged myself a bed to lie on or a fire to sit by 

with the thought of R. out in the cold. To know 

him in lodgings at Forges is a great relief. As for 

himself, I am sure that activity will be a relief under 

present circumstances. 

Almost our only society at present is Bertinatti, the 

Italian Minister, who lives here en gar^on, as his wife, 

an American, who is said to be very beautiful, has not 

joined him yet. He comes often in the evening, 

entering with a quiet Italian '* Con permisso " (With 

permission), and establishes himself in an armchair, 

asking the servant to bring him a bottle of red wine, 

as he does not drink tea. Then he sits there for 

hours, taking snuff, sipping his wine, and having an 

occasional short snooze in the pauses of conversation.^ 

Another habitue is Aladro, a cheery little Spaniard, 

who used to come and sing and play with Mdlle. A. 

when she was still here. He generally begins with 

a waltz or something lively, and then sings his one 

song — 

" Mi gustan todas, mi gustan todas " 

(I like them all), throwing the most killing glances at 

* I can understand our other colleagues rather wondering at him, 
but we are used to his ways and he is a Piedmontese, which to us 
means a great deal, besides his being clever and learned and a 
thoroughly worthy man. 




ERNEST DE BUNSEN WITH TWO OF THE 
WOUNDED AT THE NEUWIED HOSPITAL. 



To face p. 343.] 



THE HAGUE 343 

any woman that happens to be in the room. A few 
more people come on a Friday, when I am supposed to 
be more especially at home. Mdlle. de T., daughter 
of one of the King's aides-de-camp, who has a good 
voice, sings, and it is quite pleasant. 

The other day we dined with Bertinatti to eat 
a risotto^ which his Piedmontese servant makes very 
well. It reminded us all of Turin, where it was a 
popular dish at balls and dances. Aladro was the only 
other guest at this dinner, which Bertinatti had long 
been planning ; it has been my only outing for a very 
long time. 

We have been seeing a Dutch surgeon who Dec. i. 
volunteered for the Red Cross and has been hard at 
work at Neuwied, on the Rhine, all this time. He 
described the state of a train full of French wounded 
Ernest ^ brought off from Metz 2 as something too 
deplorable for words. Everything they had on them 
had to be burnt immediately ; for fourteen days before 
the surrender the French surgeons had no more linen, 
or bandages, or anything wherewith to dress their 
wounds, and had been obliged to give them up in 
despair. Ernest brought them to Neuwied "a ses 
risques et perils," for, as prisoners of war, they ought 
by rights to have been taken only to establishments 
belonging to Government. However, he carried them 
off, and his action has been approved since, and all the 
poor fellows are doing well. The Neuwied hospital 
has been singularly fortunate, losing only two patients, 
I think. They are all in tents or wooden barracks, 
and the Princess-mother of Wied nurses them herself. 

I saw R.'s name in the Times as having covered the 

' My brother-in-law, Ernest de Bunsen. 
2 Metz had surrendered October 27th. 



344 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

retreat before ManteufFel's troops, and was thankful 
for that piece of intelligence, for I get your letters so 
late and so irregularly. 

As if things were not sad enough here, we 
have had the death of the poor Princess Frederick, 
who has been so long ill, and must all go into deep 
mourning. I went to the Huis de Paauw to-day, 
which was anything but quiet with all the visites de 
condoleance^ and the Prince of Wied just arrived from 
Versailles on leave for twelve days. I hope his coming 
will be a comfort to his fiancee^ who is quite worn out 
by nursing her mother for such a long time. We must 
write by the field post now, I suppose. 

I can hardly imagine you keeping Christmas under 
such new and strange circumstances, with a garrison of 
German soldiers in the house. 



My mother was indeed at that moment in a difficult 
and uncomfortable position. When my brother left 
his home to join the army of national defence he 
took with him all the men and horses about the 
place, and Mme. Waddington remained with my 
sister-in-law and a small baby, born after the com- 
mencement of the war, at the head of a household 
of women. Then, as the wave of invasion spread 
more and more over the country, she had to cope 
with the German troops who were quartered at the 
chateau. Happily she was a brave and dignified old 
lady, I and her knowledge of the German language, her 
Highland blood, and, above all, her firm trust in God, 
stood her in good stead. She made a point of always 
meeting her unwelcome guests herself at the hall door 
and explaining what accommodation she would put at 
^ She was nee Chisholm. 



THE HAGUE 345 

the officers' disposal in the house (the men were 
quartered about the place), and what arrangements 
would be made for their food, &c. 

Only two bedrooms were assigned to the foreigners 
in the chateau^ but the dining-room was abandoned to 
them, as meals in common my mother would not hear 
of. She would not consent either to the house doors 
being left open at night, as was the custom, in case of 
alarm. A servant should be instructed to open at once 
in case of emergency, but she was used to sleeping 
with closed doors. It is only fair to say that all 
worked smoothly, the officers obligingly falling in with 
her wishes, and even taking off their heavy boots in 
the hall not to disturb the ladies as they came upstairs. 
In this respect my mother was fortunate in having to 
do with the " Landwehr " (Reserves), who had been 
called out as the war went on, and who, being mostly 
fathers of families, were quietly disposed, tried to 
make friends, and played with the baby. Another 
great help was some of the maids being of German 
origin, for one of the complications of that dreadful 
time was the difficulty of understanding each other. 
The Germans, arriving tired and exhausted, were 
exasperated by not being able to make their wants 
understood, and often laid hands on things themselves. 
Another difficulty was the frequent changes of garrison 
consequent on the movements of troops. No sooner 
had you made acquaintance in some degree with the 
men quartered on you than they departed, and you 
had to begin again with a fresh set. In this respect 
my eldest brother suffered much, as the Chateau of 
Bourneville, where he lived, was on the main road from 
Sedan to Paris, and the whole German army passed 
that way. He had, unfortunately, some very unpleasant 



346 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

experiences amongst the officers quartered on him, even 
some belonging to the Guards, who were insatiable in 
their demands for champagne, cigars, &c. My mother 
was also better ofF in this way, as the troops about 
Rouen were comparatively stationary. Even, however, 
when things were going as well as could be reasonably 
expected, incidents occurred which made one suddenly 
realise the awkwardness of the whole position. One 
day my mother and my sister-in-law had to go to 
Rouen, and, as they had no horses, were obliged to 
make use of the omnibus which ran between it and 
their little country town. On their return the 
lumbering vehicle set them down a little way from 
the house, and they were walking up the hill, weary 
and depressed, when they were met by their own 
victoria going into town with the German captain, 
Count von W., who was quartered at the chateau^ who 
saluted them elaborately as he passed. There was not 
a word to be said, as the Count had asked permission 
to use the carriage, which, of course, he need not have 
done ; but somehow the picture of the two tired ladies 
seeing a foreign officer drive past them in their own 
carriage, bowing politely, seemed to make me realise 
the inconvenience and annoyances of military occupation 
more than many more tragic stories. 



Do any of my letters reach you ? They go far 
enough round at present. First to Carlsruhe, from 
whence they are sent on to Sternberg, who is at 
Versailles with the Grand Duke of Baden, and who is 
supposed to forward them to you. I only hope he 
does I 

Our Christmas-tree was very successful and gave B. 



THE HAGUE 347 

such pure delight that I felt quite sorry to have pre- 
pared for it rather grudgingly and with very little 
entrain. 

I cannot let the day end without sending you a line ! '^^ 
Oh, the joy and thankfulness this armistice has caused Jan., 
us ! It was B, who brought me the decisive news from 
the Legation, where she had been passing the afternoon 
with the Perponcher children — " Maman, tu sais, il y a 
un armistice de trois semaines, le Comte nous I'a dit." 
Thank God ! Then came C, radiant, and after dinner 
our habitues^ Aladro, Bertinatti, &c., came to con- 
gratulate, and all kissed my hand to show their 
sympathy. They have been very kind and faithful 
during all this long, weary time, coming to pass dull, 
dismal evenings with us. I could hardly get to sleep 
last night for thinking and hoping ; it seems so strange 
not to have le cceur serre that I almost miss it. 

The prospect of my letters reaching you once more Feb. 9. 
directly and not having to go round by England or to 
be entrusted to the field post, and that I shall not be 
cut off from intercourse with you any longer, seems 
almost too delightful to be true. Yesterday we had a 
grand dinner at the Baron von Langenau's (Austria), 
the first time I have been out this winter, but as there 
was the armistice I had no excuse. Admiral Harris 
took me in, and I really do not know what impelled 
me to tell him what H. said — that of all the various 
creatures he had partaken of during the siege of Paris 
dog was the worst, because it had such a distinct taste 
of — dog I I suppose the contrast of the exceedingly 
plentiful and sumptuous meal going on at the time 
was too much for the Admiral, for he only ejaculated 
"Good Heavens!" and stared at me blankly. After 
living a secluded life for so long the heat and the noise 



348 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

and lights tired me dreadfully, and to-day I feel quite 
done. 

Feb. 24. The idea of peace being really made makes me feel 

quite odd, as though the relief were almost too great, 
and I was giddy or light-headed. It would be better, 
I think, if we were in some more demonstrative land, 
but here people in general are so cold and indifferent. 
I wonder if you ever asked yourself how we have 
lived of late, financially speaking, with the V.'s (our 
bankers) shut up in Paris ? I suppose you had your 
own difficulties to think of, but in that respect also peace 
is a great relief. The V.'s behaved splendidly and sent 
us money letters par ballon monte^ which alighted some- 
where in Belgium ; their contents were forwarded and 
were really of use, but it was rather a precarious way 
of life. 

Mar. 12. The Figaro and other French papers have reappeared 
at the club here, so that communications must be pretty 
well re-established now. Indeed, I shall send this letter 
direct and let it take its chance, for I do not see any 
use in letting them go round by England any more. 
It was delightful to get your last letter ; one felt in 
every line you had all your dear ones round you again 
and that the time of loneliness and anxiety was over. 
I was so glad to hear of R. saying to your Prussian 
guest. Count von Wulfen, " Mon Capitaine, veuillez 
donner le bras a ma mere.-* " to take you in to dinner, 
and of he and H. discussing the campaign with him 
afterwards like chivalrous enemies. I am so thankful 
to you for treating the Germans hospitably. After 
all, hon gre^ mal gre^ you have some links with them 
through me, and that ought to go for something. As 
for me, after all the horrors and troubles of war I feel 
like an American I read of, who declared, " If ever this 



THE HAGUE 349 

war's over I'm going to join an Everlasting Peace 
Society ! " 

To-day we went to see the atilier of Bisckop, one of 
the most popular modern Dutch painters. His wife is 
an Englishwoman, also an artist, who paints in water- 
colours. They have the prettiest little Dutch house 
imaginable, all furnished with old things of about the 
same date which they have picked up. It has a most 
quaint and old-world look, with the green water of the 
canal under the windows. Mrs. Bisckop is working at 
a beautiful picture of a mother with her baby in her 
arms,i into which she has introduced an old carved 
wood cradle which they discovered a short time ago. 
They have given the house the name of 0ns Genoegen^ 
which means in Dutch What suffices us, and the whole 
place is perfectly delightful. 

The heat here has come on so suddenly that many 
people have been " taken worser " or fainted, and I am 
ashamed to say that I have been amongst the number. 
We were at the X.'s at a great supper, and I had felt 
queer for some time, but hoped to get on to the end. 
A Dutch supper in a Dutch house, however, is a long 
and serious affair, and at last I felt I must escape, 
which I did just in time, and fell into a chair in the 
next room. The next thing I remember was Aladro 
and another man applying eau de Cologne and C. 
hunting for servant and carriage to take me home. 
I was soon able to depart, feeling very small at having 
caused such a fuss, and I do not understand what 
brought it on, for the party was pleasant enough. The 
next day I had a formal visit from four Baronnes de X., 

^ It was a great surprise and pleasure to me to see this picture 
again many years after in the possession of Lord Powerscourt, near 
Dublin. 



350 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

two old ladies and two young ones, to inquire about 
my health, and had to listen to a detailed account of 
all that had been done for me and all the feeling that 
had been shown. Our two Southern habitues were 
inclined to account for the incident by very unpoetical 
suggestions. Bertinatti thought I had perhaps eaten 
rather more than usual and Aladro said, " Ma cousine, 
vous etiez peutetre trop serree," 

I don't know if I have told you that Aladro and I 
have agreed to call each other cousins .? He has found 
out some entirely imaginary connection, but the real 
amusement is to see how it puzzles people here. "Ah ! 
vraiment vous etes cousins ^ mais comment ? " &c., and 
they try laboriously to understand what really does not 
exist and cannot see the joke at all. Of course, I 
treated both suppositions with the contempt they 
deserved. Count Perponcher, who had heard of my 
accident, told C. it was only what he could expect for 
taking me to that form of Dutch entertainment. 




DON JUAN D'ALADRO, CHARGE D'AFFAIRES OF SPAIN. 



To face p. 350.] 



CHAPTER XVIII 

Marriage of Princess Marie of the Netherlands and the Prince of 
Wied — Official invitations — Lengthy ceremony — Reception at 
-Huis de Paauw — Professor Nippold — Visit to Archbishop of 
Utrecht at Delft — Exhibition of drawings — Old china— Lost 
opportunities in Holland — Berlin — Mommsen's tribute to W. 
— Leave Berlin — " Mein Geniigen." 

THE marriage of Princess Marie of the Netherlands J"^y ^^• 
with the Prince of Wied, which has been so long 
deferred, is to take place soon, it seems. I am rather 
busy seeing after a dress, &c., for the occasion. 

The great day of the wedding, the i8th, is approach- 
ing, and there is a good deal of stir in the Prince 
Frederick's usually quiet palace opposite. Carriages 
with four horses and outriders going in and out ; 
evidently the new arrivals paying visits in town and 
coming in from or going out to the Huis de Paauw. 
We have received several documents, all in Dutch, 
about the royal wedding, which we have been busy 
puzzling out. First there is the official invitation — 
" Namens Zijne Koninklijke Hoogheid Prins Frederik 
der Nederlanden " (In the name of his Royal Highness 
Prince Frederick of the Netherlands) to C, " en 
Mevrouw CJwe echtgenoote " (and Madame your 
spouse) to be present at the wedding of her R.H. 
Madame the Princess Maria of the Netherlands and 
his Serene Highness the Prince of Wied on Tuesday 

351 



352 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

the 1 8 th of July. Then there is a programme minutely 
describing the order in which all the royalties will 
proceed to the Kirk te Wassenaar, which is the parish 
of the Huis de Paauw. After the ceremony there is 
to be a dejeuner dinatoire for all those present, who will 
also be given an opportunity of congratulating the 
newly married princely pair on their completed 
marriage. Then follow directions to be at " het 
Kirkgebouw van Wassenaar " at half " twee ure " (half 
before two), the gentlemen in uniform and the ladies 
in high, long dresses — met kapsels (coiffures) — and no 
wraps, so it is as well we are in July. 

On Monday I was very busy with my preparations 
for the ceremony of the next day. My dress was just 
in time^ and is really quite pretty, mauve, with all my 
point d'Argentan. We set off for the wedding a little 
after twelve, to ensure being punctual. The day was 
beautiful, and, as you know, the drive to the Huis de 
Paauw is very pretty. There were triumphal arches 
and decorations all along the road, and the village of 
Wassenaar, where the ceremony was to take place, was 
crowded with people come to see the bridal procession. 
A very good-humoured and unsophisticated crowd they 
looked, all the men taking off their hats to C.'s uniform 
and orders till we were quite tired of bowing in answer. 
As we approached the church the crowd ceased, and all 
the arrangements to prevent confusion were admirably 
made. In a carriage just before us we recognised the 
backs of our friends Bertinatti and Aladro, the repre- 
sentatives of Italy and Spain. 

We got into the church quite easily by a long covered 
way, which had been prepared in case of rain, and were 
waved on by various chamhellans to our places, which 
were excellent — a side pew on one side of the pulpit, 



THE HAGUE 353 

overlooking the open space which was left for the 
bridal party. I felt decidedly grand, sitting in state 
with none but Chef esses de Mission^ as no secretaries 
were invited. We were an exception, as belonging to 
a Legation de famille. I offered to make room for 
Mme. Stolipine, who arrived later, to go up higher, but 
she said she did not think " que la dignite de son 
gouvernement " required it. Opposite the pulpit, 
behind the space left open for royalty, sat the dames 
du palais, with the grande maitresse^ Mme. van der 
Oudermeulen, in the middle. Beyond them, the centre 
of the church was filled up with maids-of-honour and 
charges de Cour of all kinds — chiefly much-embroidered 
old fogies. One aisle had been curtained off, in which 
the bridal procession was to be formed. In the pews 
opposite us were the Ministers of State, &c. We sat 
and whispered our remarks to each other, and the organ 
played for some time, till there was a stir outside 
announcing the arrival of the Court. Soon the curtains 
were drawn apart and the bridal pair appeared, the 
Prince in full uniform, the Princess entirely in cloth of 
silver, with an enormous train borne by four maids-of- 
honour. She wore all the Crown diamonds of the 
House of Orange, for such, it seems, is the custom for 
Princesses here on their wedding-day, and the Queen 
had taken them herself to the Paauw that morning, to 
deck the bride with. There was a small couronne 
fermie in magnificent diamonds resting on a wreath of 
orange blossoms and a slight tulle veil. There were 
also big diamonds strewn about in her hair and veil, 
like great sparkling drops of water, a splendid neck- 
lace and brooch, but no other ornaments. The dress, 
being of so rich and heavy a material, was quite simply 
made, with only some embroidery round the hem of 

24 



354 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

the long skirt. The ladies who bore the train, as 
generally all the women present, were dressed in shades 
of lilac and the whole effect was soft and pretty. The 
service commenced by singing, and then the clergyman 
of Wassenaar — the Welerwaarden Heer, as the pro- 
gramme called him, began an address from the pulpit. 
It is a very high one in Dutch fashion, with an immense 
sounding-board which seemed almost to extinguish him. 
I hardly understood a word, I am sorry to say, except 
every now and then the name of Nassau Oranien. He 
was fearfully long, moreover, more than half an hour by 
the clock over the organ opposite him, and, as we heard 
afterwards, made many sad allusions to the recent death 
of the bride's mother. He was quite in the wrong, 
for the programme said explicitly " en korte trourede " 
(a short nuptial address). The Princess Marie grew 
paler and paler, the King fidgeted and spoke to the 
Queen, who shrugged her shoulders. Prince Frederick 
turned to the Hof-Marschall, Count Limburg Stirum, 
who stood behind him, and evidently told him it was 
too long. Limburg Stirum gesticulated and tried to 
catch the preacher's eye. He signalled to the cham- 
hellan on the other side, and they both took out their 
watches and held them up, but all was of no avail. 
Secure in his serene altitude, his " Welerwaarden " 
went even on, one high-sounding phrase succeeding 
another in a sort of cantilena^ with Nassau Oranien, 
and Luise Henriette, the great Kurfurstin, as the 
burthen of his song. I must say I admired our two 
Prussian Herrschaften, the Grand Duchess of Mecklen- 
burg, sister of our King, and Prince Albrecht Sohn, 
for neither of them moved a muscle during the ordeal. 
At last it was over, to the evident rehef of the 
whole congregation. The King's chaplain came for- 




M. BERTINATTI, ITALIAN MINISTER 
AT THE HAGUE. 



To face p. 3S5-] 



THE HAGUE 355 

ward and began the marriage ceremony. The rings 
were exchanged, they knelt to receive the blessing, and 
the ceremony was completed. It took us a long time 
to get to our Rijtingen (carriages), when we drove ofF 
to the Paauw into the immediate presence of royalty 
again, without a pause or interval of any kind. The 
rooms were well filled with a brilliant crowd. There 
was a circle held by the King and Queen and other 
grand people, the bride and bridegroom also coming 
round and receiving congratulations. Then the 
dejeuner dinatoire was announced, the " Hohe Herr- 
schaften " having a room to themselves and the Corps 
diplomatique another, where we sat at little tables of 
eight or ten. Mr. G. took me in, Aladro sat on my 
other side, and I quite allow that I felt much better 
after my soup. Aladro congratulated me on my dress. 
" Ma cousine, vous avez une toilette qui vous va tres 
bien." I could return his compliment, for he looked 
like a young foreign prince, in a white uniform which 
set oiF his pale olive complexion and black hair, and 
no end of stars and ribbons. Much too much got up 
for a mere charge d'affaires was, I believe, the opinion 
of some of his colleagues. Bertinatti, too, was quite 
gorgeous, a mass of orders and embroidery. Later the 
health of the newly-married couple was drunk, and 
Limburg Stirum, who, poor man, never sat down for 
an instant, and in the way of refreshment only got a glass 
of wine which Perponcher held out to him from his table 
en passant^ came to announce that the great people had 
returned to the salons. We followed their example 
and another long circle began. The Queen told me 
she had heard of C.'s being at Stuttgardt through her 
sister. I suppose she wanted to hear more about it, 
for to my astonishment I suddenly saw C, who in 



356 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

general has a talent for stowing himself away in 
corners, emerge in the midst of the circle amongst all 
the royalties ! Bibra explained to me that the Queen 
had sent three different people to look for him and 
bring him to her, and she certainly seemed to be talk- 
ing to him very graciously. After some time C. had 
got into a safe corner again, when I was amused to see 
the old Grand Duchess go straight up to him, the crowd 
yielding right and left as she passed — and talk to him 
for some time. All the Herrschaften were extremely 
gracious. The Princess Marie showed me her diamonds, 
which I was glad to have a good look at. " lis ne sont 
pas a moi, madame ; c'estla Reinequi meles a pretes." 
Then the old Grand Duchess came up. " Je viens me 
refugier aupres de vous, madame ; je connais si peu de 
monde ici." She is a quite delightful old lady, looking 
so picturesque all in white, with a great deal of soft 
lace and tulle. If I get to be an old woman I should 
wish to look just like her. We had quite a talk, after 
which she turned to Perponcher, who approached at 
once, with that change of countenance and mixture of 
awe and emfressement which I suppose is exactly the 
right thing when dealing with royal persons, but which 
I quite despair of ever attaining to. Presently the 
Prince of Wied showed me all his war medals and 
other decorations. The King also shook hands and 
graciously told me it was " infernally hot," and he 
was going back to the Loo as soon as he could. H.M. 
speaks English remarkably well, but indulges sometimes 
in strong expressions. He repeated these interesting 
observations to Mrs, Harris in the same energetic i 
terms. Meantime the heels of our shoes seemed to be 
growing into our eyes, as we stood and stood and 
wondered why it did not end. The Queen had long 



THE HAGUE 357 

gone, and what could keep the King, who hates that 
sort of thing in general, we could not imagine. We 
heard afterwards that he had insisted on having the 
carriage the Queen departed in sent back for him, 
which of course necessitated change of horses and 
much delay. At last he went off, and we all quickly 
followed his example. 

We have been having a most interesting visit from Sept. 4. 
Professor Nippold, who is a great friend of all 
the Bunsens, and who translated my mother-in-law's 
biography of her husband into German. I only wish 
he had come here sooner, for his society is rousing and 
improving, and he has advised me, instead of com- 
plaining of dulness and wishing we were somewhere 
else, to set to work and study Dutch and try to learn 
something about the country, which is full of interest. 
His system for learning a language is to get hold of an 
exciting novel, and read it as you best can, without 
dictionary, just grasping the story. He maintains that 
by the time you are through the book you will have 
learnt a good deal. Of course, I suppose you must 
have some smattering of the tongue when you begin, 
but I can bear him out in much that he says, for, on 
his recommendation, I have begun a most sensational 
story of the Reformation in Holland, with people 
buried alive and all that sort of thing, and I really can 
follow it quite well. He has given me a long list of 
books in Dutch, which he says are charming and 
mostly untranslated. We went with him to Delft 
the other day, and saw a most delightful priest, a 
friend of his, who is an " Old Catholic," and lives in 
a peaceful, quaint Dutch house, with a little garden 
bright with flowers and the tower of the " oude kirk " 
in the sunshine beyond. There were big Dutch clocks 



358 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

ticking away in all directions, and the priest's study 
was like a picture, with a large library of imposing 
folios and a big Dutch Bible lying open on a stand 
by itself near the writing-table. Professor Nippold 
has written about the "Old Catholics," and is a great 
man in their eyes, so that their head, the Archbishop of 
Utrecht, had come to Delft to meet him. We all dined 
together, the Archbishop sitting in an armchair and 
being always served first. As he only speaks Dutch, 
it was rather stiff, and not so interesting as if we had 
been able to follow the conversation ; still, it was a new 
experience, especially for me as being the only lady 
present. We had a dish of meat, sausages, and vege- 
tables ; fruit and cakes were served in another room, 
and they were all most hospitable. The dear old 
priest, who is eighty-one, took great trouble to show 
me all the treasures of old lace and embroidered 
vestments belonging to his church close by. We had 
quite a tender parting, and I was sorry to leave the 
Bezydear Hof, where we had had such a curious peep 
of peaceful old-world Dutch life. 
Oct. 3. The weather has been horrible here of late ; it was 

impossible to get to Scheveningen, or to bathe, or, in 
short, to do anything except sit indoors almost in the 
dark and be thankful to have a fire. B. was decidedly 
cross, poor child, so was C, and I have no doubt I was 
also, so we were not a cheerful party. To add to our 
troubles, our cook has koorts^ which, being interpreted, 
means fever, and has been in bed for ten days. 

For a wonder, we went to the theatre with the 
Walshams and took tea with them afterwards. When 
we got home, near midnight, we found Bertinatti, who 
had been waiting for us for three hours, and was rather 
indignant at this sudden break in our regular habits. 



THE HAGUE 359 

Please thank W. for the two copies of the law on Oct. 22. 

the conseils generaux. One is already on its way to G. 
at Berlin. Bertinatti carried the other off immediately, 
and is to lend it to Bourgoing, the new French Minister. 
What a comfort it is to think of you all now, when I 
remember this time last year ! 

Last Friday we allowed ourselves to be over- Nov. 12. 
persuaded by our artist friends, the Bisckops, to go 
with them to a society where there are very interesting 
exhibitions of drawings and water-colours. It was my 
reception evening, but as we had told most of our 
habitues the evening before, we thought we might 
venture for once, and only found on our return that 
we had been quite mistaken. We amused ourselves very 
well at the Societeit, where we all gathered round a 
long green horse-shoe table, the Queen, who was 
present, sitting in the centre. The drawings, which 
are on boards, are handed down one side of the table, 
then up the other, in solemn silence, each person 
taking a long quiet look at them and then passing 
them on to his neighbour. There were some good 
water-colours, and, as valuable collections are often 
sent, it is quite interesting. When we got home, 
however, we found things had been going all wrong. 
In the jfirst place. Countess Rechteren, who is still in 
the country, had driven into town all dressed to come 
to us, and had sent away her carriage at the door. 
Auguste, the maid, met her with explanations, and 
Miiller was despatched in search of her carriage, and, 
as it had already been put up, he was away for some 
time. Meanwhile an unfortunate Prussian, to whom 
C. had given a general sort of invitation — " Ma femme 
est toujours chez elle le Vendredi soir " — and who 
came for the first time, was heard trying to make his 



360 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

way in. He must have had a queer impression of my 
receptions, as it was all dark and there was no servant. 
Once in the drawing-room, he of course mistook, the 
Countess Rechteren for me, whom he had never seen, 
and, as he is shy and rather deaf, it seems their 
conversation was as good as a play ; but I don't think 
he ever quite grasped the state of things. Aft^ the 
Rechteren had departed came Asquerino, the Spr^dsh 
Minister, who stoutly insisted it was Friday^ and WHi;rivv 
not go away until Auguste had repeatedly assured ^j * 
she had no idea of when we might return. sH, , 

One attraction of my salon is, I believe, that as th^'ltv. 
are many foreigners, it is certainly less stiff than .ft^i,. 
usual Hague parties. This, however, has also 
drawbacks, because the Dutch element, being used 
to a certain restraint, seems not to know how far it 
can go without it. Now that our Vendredis have 
grown so much more numerous, I have had some 
disagreeable incidents. The other evening I was 
accompanying a Neapolitan who is de -passage here 
and sings extremely well. To my astonishment, the 
little T. established herself in a chair near the piano 
and talked loud the whole time. As we make a 
great point of silence when music is going on, I 
could not imagine what possessed her, and inquired, 
" How could you make such a noise } " " Oh ! " she 
replied, '■^he talked the last time I sung." 

Another evening a young lady burst into tears 
publicly, and declared that she would never speak 
again to a friend of hers who was there. I had to 
take her to my room, and make her bathe her eyes 
and calm down generally before she could return to 
the drawing-room. " On n'est pas prepare pour de 
pareilles situations." However, that time, as I had 



THE HAGUE 361 

a shrewd suspicion that the quarrel was about our 
attractive colleague, Aladro, I sent for him next day, 
and told him I really could not have that sort of 
thing going on, so now I believe he has bound them 
over to keep the peace. I have been strongly advised 
to keep out of Dutch quarrels, but what can I do if 
they ight in my drawing-room ? 

r " course, Holland is the home of old china, and 

a our friend Mme. Gallenga was here she got 

?- excited on the subject, as she is very fond of 

"Xting it. We heard that one can pick up sets 

Japanese tea and coffee cups at Leyden, the custom 
..J... re being that any well-to-do student has a house 
' e^iight and furnished for him when he arrives. When 
his three years of study come to an end, the house and 
all it contains is sold, and there are often very good 
bargains to be got. So when young V. asked us to 
go and lunch with him in his student's quarters at 
the University, Mme. Gallenga was delighted. We 
soon found, however, that he had no taste for 
bric-a-bracy and did not in the least understand our 
wish to go to the Jews' quarter of Leyden, which 
he said was dirty and quite unfit for ladies. I am 
sorry to say that as soon as we had had our lunch 
our only object was to get rid of him, and as he had 
happily to attend a lecture, we started off for the 
bric-a-brac shops as soon as possible. Our expedition 
was quite successful, and we reached the station loaded 
with voluminous parcels of dirty china wrapped in 
grimy newspapers, just in time to see V., looking 
very smart and cool, going off by the same train. 
C. has given us warning that he will not recognise 
us in the streets when we return from these expedi- 
tions, as he says we look too disreputable. We do 



362 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

not mind, however, for the delight of washing these 
treasures in the evening and comparing and dis- 
playing their beauties is too great. There exist 
quite wonderful dinner and tea services in many 
houses here, one or two specimens of which alone 
would make the happiness of a collector. In the 
house of one of our friends they make daily use of 
a set of tea-things ordered in Japan by some great- 
great-grandmother, with the family arms painted on 
it. One of the daughters of the house has the care 
of it, and when tea is finished, washes it herself in 
a silver bowl brought for the purpose. It looks very 
quaint to see this young girl doing this quite simply 
and naturally, sitting under the very portrait of the 
powdered lady who had ordered the service. Till 
now the set is quite complete, nothing having been 
broken, but it is slightly nervous work having to 
take tea out of such valuable cups, however great the 
honour. 

Would you believe that we really have not seen 
Bertinatti now for more than three weeks ? I should 
not have thought it possible a short time ago. He 
has not been well, and his wife has arrived, which 
may certainly account for a change in his habits. 
Still, it feels quite odd to sit evening after evening 
and not hear Bertinatti's well-known step and " Buona 
sera " (Good evening). Sometimes, it is true, one had 
rather too much of him, but he was warm-hearted and 
kind, and took an interest in all that happened to us. No 
one has seen his wife yet, as she is in deep mourning 
and has paid no visits. It is curious how things 
seem to be winding up of themselves ; the little 
intimate set we had gathered round us during the 
evil times of the war is all dispersed, and it seem 



THE HAGUE 363 

time we should be going too ! C. is very desirous 
to get a change of post, and should he not succeed, 
will probably leave the line, at any rate for a time. 

We have called on Mme, Bertinatti, whom I Jan. 17, 
had not yet seen. To tell the truth, I was not ^ ^ * 
much disposed in her favour by her husband's queer 
conduct since her return, but I am bound to say 
I found her quite charming. She must have been 
marvellously beautiful, and though, of course, no 
longer young, is still extremely handsome. She is 
very tall and graceful, and has hands like Rafael's 
Madonna della Sedia. Moreover, she talks pleasantly, 
and has a great deal to say for herself. When we 
took leave, she held my hand, saying she hoped we 
should see each other often, that she had heard 
much about me from her husband : " M. de Bunsen 
and I must try not to be jealous, but he is very 
fond of you ! " Poor Bertinatti is a great contrast 
to this very striking personality; indeed, one can 
hardly think of them as man and wife. He is much 
changed since her arrival, much neater in his person, 
and a good deal sobered down. 

Things move slowly in this country, and now that 
we are likely to leave it soon for good, we have just 
made some interesting acquaintances, through whom 
we might have seen more of the life and customs 
of the place. One of these is a director of the 
Waterstadt^ one of the most important institutions 
here, as the whole existence of the country depends 
on the dykes. He has offered to take us with him 
on one of his expeditions to the north of Holland, 
where he promises us a sail on dry land ! It seems 
when there is a good wind he often has a sail put 
up on a railway truck, and that you can proceed in 



364 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

this way at great speed along the lines. It would 
be most attractive and original, but I am afraid it 
is too late to manage it now. 

Another thing I should have liked to see is the 
girls' skating races at Leeuwarden. It seems they go 
at such a tremendous pace that, notwithstanding the 
severe cold, they skate with nothing but their chemises 
on, their relatives and friends awaiting them at the 
goal with heaps of flannel wraps. It is too late for 
that also now, and one has the feeling of having 
missed much that is original and interesting in the 
country ; but the war made us lose a year in which 
we could think of nothing else, and then it is a 
fact that everything takes time here. It is really 
only now, after three years in Holland, that we are 
becoming aware of many sources of interest quite 
independent of the Court and diplomatic life. 

I sent you a hurried line, just as we were leaving the 
Hague, that you might not be too long without news. 
The last days were really dreadful ; there was so much 
to be done. Auguste was ill with intermittent fever, 
hot and cold fits coming on alternately, and scarcely 
able to creep about. She got out of bed to dress me 
for the Court ball, which I really wished to attend as it 
was an opportunity of seeing many people for the last 
time. Everybody was very kind, old Gerriche really 
tender. He and his wife, who is away in Brussels, 
have always been charming to us. The King came 
and talked, and all went off well. Thursday we had 
a farewell audience of the Queen at nine. She was 
very gracious and kept us till past eleven talking 
a great deal. She took leave of us without asking any 
awkward questions, merely saying she hoped we 
should meet again. She then embraced me and gave 




GEORGE VON BUNSEN. 



To face p. 365.] f 



THE HAGUE 365 

C. her hand, which he kissed, and so that was over. 
She has certainly been very kind to us during our stay 
here. Saturday we dined at our Chief's, B. included. 
Sunday was a dreary day, not one of rest certainly, for 
Auguste and I packed far into the night, and on 
Monday morning there was still much to be done ; but 
at last we got out of the house amidst many tears — not 
of our shedding, I must confess. It was a beautiful 
day and we walked to the Rheinsche spoorweg (Rhine 
railway) with Bertinatti, who had come early to the 
house. We got there in splendid time and took our 
tickets, &c. It was well we had got through that 
all right, for nearly the whole Corps diplomatique came 
to see us off. I need not give you all the names, but 
all the Legations were represented, and the station was 
quite full. In short, our departure was really quite 
a brilliant episode, and we could hardly decently 
return to the Hague, I fear, after such a solemn leave- 
taking. Altogether I have a better recollection of our 
last days in Holland than I should have thought 
possible. 

We had a very pleasant dinner at the Georges' last 
week in honour of Odo Russell (Lord Ampthill). All 
the principal members of the Opposition in the Reichstag 
had been invited to meet him, and it was very interest- 
ing, though perhaps a little compromising for Beamten 
(Governm-ent officials), such as we are, in the state 
of parties here. G.'s new house is built in the Gothic 
style, with a handsome hall right through the middle. 
They have by no means done with all their difficulties, 
and the enormous price of everything connected with 
building in Berlin at present has made C. revert to the 
idea of getting some small place on the Rhine. We 
have heard of a house near Wiesbaden which is de- 



366 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

scribed as an earthly paradise, and which we want to go 
and see on our way to Carlsruhe. For myself, I should 
so much prefer living in the country. Till now, C. 
has no answer to his request for six months' leave, 
so that our movements are quite uncertain. We were 
befohlen (bidden) to Court on the King's birthday, 
which is a great distinction I believe. There was quite 
a gathering of Princes and Princesses, sixteen from all 
parts of Germany, but I found no one who could point 
them out to me, and ended by only recognising those 
I had already seen. There was a very good concert, 
and I was lucky in getting a seat between the Countess 
Frieda d'Arnim, now Frau von Bethmann Holweg, 
and the Countess Eulenburg. The Countess Haacke 
told C. we were to have been asked to the Empress's 
Thursday last week, but the Hof-Marschall insisted we 
had gone, making a confusion with the E. de Bunsens, 
I suppose. Anna Mohl, who was a great friend of 
the Bunsens at Heidelberg formerly, is now a Frau 
Geheime Rath Helmholtz, and has a very pleasant 
house here. Helmholtz has, it is said, almost created 
a branch of science for himself, connected with sounds 
and the laws of acoustics, and is, moreover, a very 
agreeable man. The last time we were there I met 
Mommsen, the historian, who spoke warmly of W., 
saying how grateful he and his friends were to him, 
as being the only French savant who has kept up com- 
munications with them notwithstanding all the intensity 
and bitterness of feeling since the war. A lady who 
was sitting next me asked some question about W., and 
Mommsen gave « her a brief sketch of his political 
career. It was only a few words, but very clear and 
exact, and decidedly soothing to a sister's feelings, and 
as he wound up with the words " So ist der Mann " 



THE HAGUE 367 

(that is the man) I felt quite touched. If you 
want to hear W. well and worthily praised you must 
come to Berlin. What seems to have struck them all 
so much is his action in forwarding the men about him 
to the armies on the Loire. As he signed all their 
passports, the slightest accident or indiscretion might 
have betrayed him, and as Johannis Brandis said to me, 
" il jouait sa tete." After Mommsen, I talked with a 
great light on natural history. Professor Virchow, who 
offered, in the course of conversation, to give me a 
sketch of the history of herring fishery since the 
twelfth century. Then there was a " General Stabs 
Arzt," who had been at the head of a great Lazaret 
during the war and had plenty to tell. It is really 
seldom that one meets so many distinguished people at 
the same time. B. went to play with the Princess 
Victoria last Sunday, and altogether our time here is 
passing very pleasantly. 

All our plans have been thrown into confusion by Berlin, 
C.'s hearing from the Foreign Office that his request 
for six months' leave has been refused, and he is 
ordered back to the Hague. He has to be there 
on the 1 5th, sp we have not quite a week for Wies- 
baden, where we want to see the celebrated villa which is 
so much praised. We start to-morrow at eight in the 
morning ; it is now midnight, and I have been packing 
and receiving visits all day, besides dining out. People 
have been most kind in coming to bid us good- 
bye and asking us to farewell dinners. The Emperor 
sent me a gracious message through Meyer, to say he 
was sorry he had not come across me at the palace on 
his birthday. 

I am glad to say that our uncertainties are over, and Wies- 

. . baden 

we have bought the villa at Biebrich I have so often May. ' 



368 IN THREE LEGATIONS 

mentioned. Count Perponcher telegraphed from the 
Hague that C. need not return there until the end of 
the month, which was a great relief, giving us a fort- 
night more here. We had time to make inquiries of 
all kinds before deciding on purchasing, and are much 
pleased with our new possession. 

The villa is not in the real Rhine scenery, with hills 
and ruined castles everywhere — that begins further on 
— but from the house, which stands on a height, there 
is an extensive view of the Rheingau, with the towers 
of Mayence on one side and the river winding through 
the plain to the blue hills on the other. The little 
village of Mosbach, which joins on to Biebrich, lies at 
one's feet with a picturesque church, and all around are 
orchards in full blossom. Our garden is young as yet, 
but has been carefully planted with fruit trees and there 
is a small vineyard, so that we hope to make our o^n 
wine in time. We wanted to name our new home 0ns 
Genoegen (What suffices us), after a peaceful Dutch 
abode which had taken our fancy, but the ons does 
not translate well into German, so we shall have to call 
it Mein Geniigen (What suffices me\ which is not quite 
so nice. Anyhow, it all promises to be very charming, 1 
and I wish we could settle down at once. Meanwhile, ' 
however, C. must return to the Hague, and B. and 
I go to Schlangenbad for a cure. 

We took possession of Mein Geniigen in July, 1872, 
when my husband returned from Holland and left the 
diplomatic service. 



INDEX 



d'Adda, Marchesa, 240-41 
d'Aglie,Comtesse,i39-4i, 144, 185 
Agnahi, 229 

Aladro, Signer, 342-43, 350 
Alexandra Feodorowna, Empress 

of Russia, 37-39 
Alfieri, Comtesse, 29-30, 62, 141, 

144 
Allemania, Comtessa, 242 
Alocci, 236 

d'Alte, Mme., 7, 47, 53-54 
Amadeo, Prince, 214-15, 218 
d'AminofF, M., 232 
Amp thill, Lord, 80, 365 
d'Angrogna, Marquis, 105 
d'Aosta, Due and Duchesse, 230- 

35, 264 
Arconati, Marquis and Marquise, 

40, 92, 94, 98, 100, 107-8 
Arconati, Gian Martino, 212 
d'Arnim, M. and Mme., 208 
Arrivanbeni, 211 
d'Arvillars, Marquise, 9, 26, 127 
Ashley, Hon. Mrs., 59-61, 64 
Austria, Ultimatum from, 82-86 
d'Azeglio, Marquis and Marquise, 

98, 109, 172 
d'Azeglio, the younger, 141 

Bartholeyns, see Fosslaert 
Baudin, Mme., 321-22 



25 



Behr, Herr von, 312 

Benedetti, Count and Comtesse, 

149, 311-12 
Bernhardi, 214, 266 
Bertinatti, Signor, 342-43,362-63 
Bethusy, Count, 291 
Bibra, Count, 317-18 
Bisckop, M. and Mme., 349, 359 
Bismarck, Count, 288, 298 
Bismarck, Countess, 279-80, 298 
Bixio, General, 138, 218 
Bonin, General von, 128, 130-31 
Boyl, Marquise de, 136, 139, 144, 

196, 198 
Brabazon, Lady, 296 
Brandis, Johannis, 367 
Brassier, St. Simon, 6-j, 13, 19, 
37, 45-46, 52, 61, 115-16, 
128, 130 
Breme, Marquis de, 244 
Bremer, Fredk., 56 
Brinken, Baron von, 205-9 
BrofFerio, 195 
Billow, Frau von, 281 
Bunsen, Baron, 56, 58, 6j ; death 

of, 120, 126 
Bunsen, Ernest de, 343 
Bunsen, M. and Mme. Charles de, 
early life, 3-4 ; Prussian Lega- 
tion, 3 ; Turin, 6-69 ; Monaco, 
70-77 ; birth of a son, 79 ; 
369 



370 



INDEX 



Turin in 1859, 81 ; Austria's 
Ultimatum, 82-83 » prepara- 
tions for war, 82-92 ; French 
troops in Turin, 89-94 ; diffi- 
culties created by, 96-100 ; 
visiting the military hospitals, 
99-109; Legations-Rath, 115- 
18; death of their son, 120; 
Turin in i860, 1 24.-25 ; opening 
of Parliament, 129-31 ; Cham- 
ber of Deputies, 136-39 ; 
theatre, 143 ; birth of a 
daughter, 148 ; presentation to 
Duchess of Genoa, 150-51 ; 
Court ball, 154 ; the 21?/^ ball, 
155 ; the marionettes, 158 ; 
change of Ministry, 160 ; Villa 
Tournon, 161-64 5 Court eti- 
quette, 164-65 ; Turin Library, 
173-74 5 reception to Oueen 
of Portugal, 180-86 ; Chieri, 
186 ; change of capital, 191- 
93 ; Santena and Viareggio, 
199 ; settling in Florence, 
200-I ; Consistory of Vaudois 
Church and Order of Zahringen 
Lowe, 219-20 ; entertainments 
in Florence, 201-9 \ Christmas 
in Florence, 228-29 '■> reception 
at Court by Duchess d'Aosta, 
230-35 ; a masked ball, 237 ; 
Milan, 239-40 ; the Carna- 
valone, 239-40 ; Lady Paget's 
party, 252-53 ; gaiety at 
Florence, 254; Corsini Palace, 
261-62 ; entertainments at Cap- 
poni, 263 ; Court ball, 265-66 ; 
Cascine ball, 270-1 ; Beatrice 
and Princess Marguerite, 273- 
75 ; Berlin, 277-79 5 Crown 
Prince's reception, 281-83 5 



ball in honour oi Prince and 
Princess of Wales, 284-85 ; 
Schleppen Cour, 285-86 ; 
children's ball, 290-91 ; masked 
ball, 293-96 ; The Hague, 305 ; 
Queen's garden-party, 310-11 ; 
commemorative fetes, 314-15; 
dinner at the Huis de Paauw, 
317 ; Christmas and New Year 
at The Hague, 319-22 ; le th6 
de la Reine, 324 ; sight-seeing, 
326-27 ; Berlin and France, 
322-23 ; Moersbergen, 336 ; 
war declared, 336 ; royal wed- 
ding, 351-57 ; Court on King's 
birthday, 366 ; retirement to 
Bierbrich, 367-68 

Buol, Count, 6 

Buoncompagni, 88 

Burgh, Lord Hubert de, 17-18, 130 

Cadogan, The Hon. Mrs., 149, 269 

Cagliano, Comtesse, 177-78 
Camaldolensi monks, the, 142 
Campbell, Miss, 205 
Campo Formio, treaty of, 216 
Campo Santo, 63 
Canofari, 62 
Canrobert, 90 
Caracciuolo, Marquis, 1 34 
Carail, Marquise St. Marsan du, 19 
Carignan, Prince de, 95, 264 
Carlo Alberto, King of Italy, 4 
Carpenetti, Comtesse, 26, 141 
Carras, 75 

Cartwright, Mr., 135 
Castelfidardo, battle of, 122 
Castiglione, Count and Comtesse, 

233 
Castro, M. and Mme. de, 10-12, 

154 



INDEX 



371 



Cavour, Count Camillo di, 5-6, 
19,38-39,86-87, III, 118-19, 

131, 137, 143-47, 187 
Cavour Castle, 36 
Cavour, Count Eynard, 144 
Certosa di Pesio, 114 
Charles, Prince of Prussia, 11-14 
Chestnut eating on All Saints' Eve, 

62-63 
Chollet, M. de, 67 
Cialdini, General, 122 
Circourt, Comtesse de, 5 
Cisterna, Prince della, 230 
Clarendon, Lord, 5-6, 333 
Clotilde, Princesse de Savoie, 38- 

39' 79' ^1^-79^ 184 
Cocconiti, Marquise, 140 
"Codini," origin of the name, 19 
Collobiano, Comtesse, 1 1 
Condamine, La, 70-71 
Cusani, Comtesse, 242 
Custozza, battle of, 210-11, 

1 14-15 

Danesi, 97-98 

Delaware, Lord, 130 

Derby, letters of Earl of, 83, 91 

Dielitz, Mdlle., 104, 109-10 

DonhofF, Count O., 192, 205-6, 

222-23 
Doom V. Westcapelle, Baroness v., 

316, 318-19 

Elliot, Mr., 196, 198, 221 

Erskine, Mrs., 28 

Eulenberg, Count, 268, 281, 294 

Fanti, General, 122 

Ferriol, M. de St., quoted, 20 

Fosslaert, Bartholeyns de, 126-27, 

136-37' 139-40 



Fra Giacomo, 144, 146-47 
Francis IL of Naples, 121, 122, 

128 
Franco-German War, 336-46 
Frederick William IV. of Prussia, 

death of, 126 
Frederick William of Prussia 

(Frederick IIL), 248, 250-52, 

257-59, 270-72 
French troops enter Turin, 89-91 

Gaeta, Francis II. at, 122-23 5 
surrender of, 128 

Galli, Count, 231-35 

Gallenga, M. and Mme., 168-74, 
361 

Garibaldi, Giuseppe, enters Turin, 
87 ; success of, 99 ; expedition 
to Sicily, 121 ; enters Naples, 
122 ; meeting with Victor 
Emanuel, 122-23 ; in the 
Chamber of Deputies, 137; 
feeling of diplomatists towards, 
170 ; taken prisoner, 17S ; 
popularity of cause of, 212-13 

Gattinara, Count and Comtesse, 
141, 151-52, 182-83 

Gerebsow, 40, 58, 105-6, 117 

Germain, Marquise de St., 33, 90 

Ginlay, General, 93 

Giulia, Signora, 229 

Govone, General, 218 

Gramont, Due and Duchesse de, 
7-9, 16, 61-7, 332' 334 

Gran Madre di Dio, Church of, 
28 

Grisi, 229, 236 

Groeninx, Mme., 328 

Guiche, Due de, 16 

Haacke, Comtesse, 332 



372 



INDEX 



Haarlem, 330 
Hardman, Mrs., 204, 250 
Harrach, Count and Comtesse, 

294-96 
Harris, Admiral and Mrs., 347, 356 
Hatch, Miss, 235 
Helmholtz, Herr and Frau von, 366 
Henry, Prince of the Netherlands, 

329 
Herries, Mr., 202 
Hochschild, M. and Mme. de, 

151-52 
Hohenthal, Countess, 281 
Hudson, Sir James, 14-15, 18, 37, 

59-61, 64-65, 119, 130 
Huene, von, 201 
Humbert, see Umberto 

Jacini, Mme., 237, 240, 242 
Jacobson, Mr. and Mrs., 310, 314 
Jasmund, 281, 294, 339 

Kanitz, 339 

Kayserling, Count (Turin), 81,85 

Kayserling, Count (Berlin), 286 

Kellersperg, Baron, 82, 86, 89 

Keudell, Count von, 292 

Khnevenhuller, Count, 235 

Kleist, M. de, 176 

Knorring, M. de, 323-25, 327-28 

Kolochine, 1 1 

Krause, M . de, 115 

Kriiger, Mr. and Mrs., 291 

Lajatico, Marchesa, 241 
Lamoriciere, General, 122 
Langenau, Baron von, 347 
Lannoy, 54 

Latour, 35, 56-57, 105 
Launay, Count de, 292 
Lawrence, Mrs., 236 



Layard, 204-206 
Lea, Mrs., 312-13 
Leboeuf, General, 216 

Lecky, 334 

Lima, Mme. de, 132 

Lissa, battle of, 216 

Litta, Marquise, 98, 242 

Locock, Mr. and Mrs., 329, 335 

Lucadow, Count, 225, 260 

Magenta, battle of, 100 

Malaret, M. de, 221 

Mantegna's picture of Holy 

Family, 245-46 
Marguerite de Savoie (Queen of 

Italy), 157-59' 198, 202, 247- 

50, 260-61, 268, 274-75, 312 
Maria Pia de Savoie (Queen of 

Portugal), 168, 175, 178, 

181-86 
Marie of the Netherlands, 315- 

17 ; marriage of, 351-57 
Marmora, Mme. and General La, 

10, 45. 175. 214 
Mathilde Bonaparte, 178-80 
Matteuci, Professor, i 34 
Meille, M., 21, 34-35, 4i-43» 5o» 

84, 101-2, 193 
Menabrea, General, 131, 155, 

216-17 
Menabrea, Mme., 254 
Metz, surrender of, 343 
Mignano, Duke of, 176, 188 
Milan, 239-40 
Milton, John, quoted, 34 
Minghetti, 195 
Mohl, 334 
Mommsen, 366 
Monaco, 70-5 
Moncalieri, 167 
MouhanofF, Mme., 327 



INDEX 



373 



Monk, Mrs., 205 
Montebello, battle of, 96 
Montereno, Marquise de, 273 
Moring, General, 225 
Musurus, 16 

Naples, campaign in, 121-23 
Napoleon and Baron de Hiibner, 

78; arrival at Genoa, 95 ; arrival 

at Turin, 1 1 1-12 
Napoleon, Prince, 179 
Niemann, 298 
Nippold, Professor, 357-58 
Noel, Lady Annabella, 241 
Novara, battle of, 4 

Oldofredi, Count, 243 

Oscar, Prince of Sweden, 154-55 

Oudermeulen, Mme. van der, 327 

Paar, Count, 8-9 
Paget, Lady, 252 
Palavicini, Marquise, 10, 14, 240, 

242 
Palestro, battle of, 100 
Pantaleoni, Dr., 135 
Papst, Mme. de, 324 
Paris, peace of, 4 
Pepoli, Marquis, 131, 142 
Perponcher, Count and Comtesse, 

300, 306, 318-22, 355-56 
Persano, Admiral, 211, 216-17 
Perugia, 114, 116, 118, 122 
Peruzzi, M. and Mme,, 1 14-15, 

131-33, 138,140, H9-50, 159' 

237 
Pettiti, Mme., 203 
Peyrot, M. and Mme., 35-36, 

56-57 
Pfuel, M. de, 69, 149, 157 

Pianelli, General and Mme., 196 



Piedmont, independence of, 5 ; 

Prince of, see Umberto 
Piferi, 134-35, 141 
Pilatte, M. and Mdlle., 34-35, 

76-77, 95 
Piola, 99 

Poerio, Baron, 80, 140 
Pressense, Edmond de, 126 
Prevers, Mme., 159 
Promis, Librarian at Turin, 173-74 

Radolinsky, Count and Comtesse, 

213, 218-22 
Rasponi, Count, 217 
Ratazzi, M. and Mme., 159-60, 

244 
Rechteren, Comtesse, 359-60 
Revel, 35-36 

Reventlow, Comtesse, 28 1, 290 
Riberi, 144 

Ricasoli, 137, 147, 195 
Robilant, Count Charles de, 97, 

150 
Robilant, Comtesse, 7, 95 
Rochegude, 104 
Rocst van Limburg, Mme., 322 
Roeder, Count, 288 
Rora, Marquise de, 196 
Rovere, La, 245 
Russell, Lord John, 119 
Russell, Mrs., 206 
Russell, Odo, see Ampthill 
Rustem Bey, 24, 37 

Sackens, Osten, 203-4, 217, 232, 

250 
Sadowa, battle of, 211, 215 
Saluzzo, castle of, 171-73 
St. Simon, see Brassier 
San Martino, battle of, 107, ill 
Sardinia, King of, 38-39 



374 



INDEX 



Schickler, Mme., 112 

Schmitz, Consul at Florence, 

250-51 
Schulemburg, Countess of, 280 
Schweizer, M. de, 220 
Sclopis, Count and Comtesse, 10, 

18, 59. 133 
Settembrini, 80 
Sforza, Due and Duchesse, 140, 

263 
Solferino, battle of, 107, 1 1 1 
Solvyns, Mme., 233 
Sonnaz, General de, 98 
Sophie of the Netherlands, Oueen, 

308 
Sourd, M. Le, 202 
Spinola, Marquis and Marquise, 

6, 55, 68, 88 
Spinola, Marquise Momina, 89, 94 
Stackelberg, General Count and 

Comtesse de, 29,45, 48, 50-52, 

62, 105-7, 115, 182 
" Statuto Fundamentale," 4, 27, 

143, 166 
Stirum, Count Limburg, 354-55 
Stolipine, Mme., 353 
Suchtelen van der Haare, Mdlle. 

van, 316 
Susanni, Count, 229, 236 

Talleyrand, Duchesse de, 219, 

221 
Taverna, Count, 239-41, 246 
Tchitcherine, 52, 117 
Thurlow, Mr. and Lady Elma, 309 
Tornielli, Count and Comtesse, 

220 
Tottenham, Mr. and Mrs. Loftus, 

117, 119, 165, 199, 253 
Trivulzio, Marchesa, 241 
Trivulzio collections, 245-46 



Truchsess, Count, 33 
Tuscany, Grand Duke of, 88 ; 
annexed to Piedmont, 114, 116 

Uebel, M. and Mme., 7-8, 19, 

55, 69 
Umberto, Prince, at Florence, 

232, 240-4 ; marriage of, 

247-49 ; 255, 265-66 ; birth of 

an heir, 312 
Unruhe, Herr von, 251, 266-67 
Usedom, Count and Comtesse, 

192, 199-202, 205, 212-15, 

229, 235, 251, 263-69 

Valentino, chateau of, 43 

Vaudois, the, 33-34 

Vela, 49, 86 

Venice ceded to Italy, 211, 216; 
fetes at, 223-27 

Verzuolo, castle of, 171 

Victor Emanuel II., accession of, 
4 ; speech at Piedmontese Par- 
liament, 78 ; Queen Victoria's 
impression of, 81-82 ; interview 
with Garibaldi, 122-23 5 King 
of Italy, 129-30 ; reception in 
Turin, 197 

Victoria, correspondence of 
Queen, 6, 45, 80, 81, 83, 88, 

91, 93 
Villafranca, peace of, no, 116 
Villamarina, Marquise de, 184 
Villari, Professor, 140 
Virchow, Professor, 367 
Vitzthum, Count, 202 

Wachtel, 291 

Waddington, Evelyn, 114, 129, 

131 
Waddington, Mme,, 344-46 



INDEX 



375 



Waddington, Mary Isabella, see 

Mme. Charles de Bunsen 
Waddington, Richard, 341-42, 

343-44. 348 
Waddington, W. H., 134, 366-67 
Walsham, Mr. and Mrs., 358 
Weber, Dr., 150-51 



Wied, Prince of, 315-17 ; mar- 
riage of, 351-57 
Wilhelm, Emperor, 150, 292 
Witzingerode, Baroness, 286 
Wulfen, Count von, 348 

ZiEGLER, Baron, 289 



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